The Future is Whatever We Wish
by Flono
Summary: The story has moved past its original idea of expanding upon the Korrasami Vacation. Our beloved heroines now return to Republic City where they will face new challenges from both the friends they have and the world in which they live. Some bridges may have to be burnt before they can be rebuilt. I sincerely hope you enjoy this story. As always reviews are greatly appreciated.
1. Prologue: The Beginning of a Future

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters or names of characters. All I own are my opinions, interpretations, and expansions. Read, Review, Enjoy.

**Prologue**

"Excuse me Tenzen," said Asami with a worried face, "Varick is looking for you. Something about borrowing a glider suit to fly off the tower?"

"That doesn't sound good!" said Tenzen. The brief moment between Korra and her mentor ended as Tenzen hurried off to find Varick before the genius did something foolish.

As Tenzen rushed away Korra asked, "Wanna sit with me a minute? I'm not ready to get back to the party just yet."

Asami smiled and the two of them sat on the stairs and looked across the bay in twilight. The water shimmered gently reflecting the twilight sky.

"I don't think I ever really apologized."

"For what?" asked Asami.

Korra looked down, her eyes tinged with guilt. How was she supposed to say it? She had literally run away from everything and everyone.

"For being gone all that time. For not coming back sooner."

Asami leaned closer. "You don't need to apologize for anything. I'm just so happy you're here now." She glanced downward, her eyes haunted with sadness. "I don't think I could have handled losing you and my father in the same day."

Korra saw her tears and her heart lurched. "I'm so sorry about what happened." Korra leaned closer and gave Asami a gentle hug as she brushed a tear from her eye.

"Thank you," said Asami, "I was just glad I was able to forgive him."

They parted.

"So what now? Back to the dance floor?" asked Korra, inside she prayed the answer wasn't yes.

"I'm kind of all danced out. Honestly after everything that's happened the last few months, I could use a vacation." Asami said with a slight frown.

Korra's eyes lit up. "Let's do it! Let's go on a vacation, just the two of us. Anywhere you want!"

"Really? Okay," said Asami apprehensively, and after a moment's consideration, "I've always wanted to see what the spirit world was like."

"Sounds perfect."

The two of them looked at the new Spirit Portal. The golden light seemed to warm them in the cooling nighttime air.

Silently the two returned to the party, plan in mind. The festivities had started to die down. Mako stood ever alert at the edge of the party listening intently but not overly so to Prince Wu who excitedly rattled off ideas pertaining to the changes he wanted to make for the Earth Kingdom.

Bolin and Opal gently swirled on the dance floor. Opal moving with the grace of the air she had come to learn of and love. Bolin sweating slightly realizing that he had never danced a day in his life but nevertheless making a good show of it.

Lin stood off in the corner of the party. At first it looked as though she was back to her grumpy self, but looking closer a mischievous smile flicked across her eyes.

Su Yin, on the other hand, sat with her recently reunited family. The twins were again at their shenanigans challenging each other to greater and greater feats, some of which threatened to end poorly. Huan toyed with a small piece of metal levitating it and metalbending it into a variety of shapes, never quite pleased with the result. Batar Jr. was missing, he had taken an early leave to work up the courage to visit Kuvira. Though it had been a few days, healing was still needed. Off in the distance, a grinning Varick and an elegantly smiling Zhu Li said farewell to guests and friends.

"Looks like things are coming to an end." said Asami smiling.

"Maybe so," said Korra, "But I think this is also the beginning of something new."

The two glanced at each other smiling. Without a word they headed towards the newlyweds to give them their congratulations and best wishes. They quietly agreed on a time and both vanished into the quickly darkening night.

* * *

><p>The near dawn sky was black as ink. The stars shimmered radiantly. As they drew closer to the Spirit Portal the light from the Spirit Portal dyed the nearby clouds the color of a golden dawn. Republic City was silent save for the sounds of spirits that remained near the new portal. Korra and Asami having changed out of their party attire stood atop the vines above the portal looking down to what promised to be an adventure. They walked towards the golden light basking in the portal's warmth. Around them were hundreds of spirits looking curiously at the Avatar and her companion. They didn't flee as they had prior to the final confrontation. They simply watched.<p>

Their hands drifted together and they shared a smile. Together they crossed the threshold into the golden glow of the portal. As Korra looked at Asami memories of their past flooded into her mind unconsciously telling her something she had yet to fully realize.

Her name was Asami. She had been a rival, an ally, her best friend, and in the darkest of times she had been a comfort and lifeline. In her weakest point, when it felt like everyone either feared hurting her more or couldn't understand her, Asami had stayed by her side and had cared for her out without question. Even when oceans separated them she had written hundreds of letters. In the three years of anguish brought on by the poison, crippling self-doubt, painful recovery, Asami had always been there, a tether to life, her light in what felt like an endless night. She had changed from being simply a friend to becoming the rock that anchored her.

Emotions washed over her like a warm tropical wave. It was familiar and yet new. It rested deeper in her heart and felt so much stronger than she had ever known. Her eyes closed as she leaned forward into the great unknown not knowing what to expect, not daring to open her eyes, part of her screamed in anticipation, another glanced anxiously from behind whatever mental walls it had put up. But every stray thought and rogue emotion went silent as her lips met Asami's in a tender and passionate kiss. In that moment she knew peace like she had never known before. Her heart had found a home.

The light of the portal enveloped them and in its warmth transported them to their vacation and the start of the rest of their lives.

* * *

><p>Yep you probably guessed it, it's a rehash (a thousand years late) of the events at the end of the finale I added some stuff I thought would add a bit more depth and take away the "cheap copy" feel I kept getting while writing. Future chapters are about 90% my own words and 10% based on various interpretations of artwork and other materials. I will hopefully be able to include a list of inspirations later on. Thanks for reading.<p> 


	2. Chapter 1: Arrival

**Chapter 1:** Arrival

As the light faded Asami and Korra found themselves in a meadow of brilliant magenta flowers dotted with trees that bore the appearance of the Tree of Time. The meadow was situated in a small valley surrounded by ice-like crystalline formations. The sky was calm and midnight blue but grew lighter in color as it drew near the portal. They parted with hands still held.

"W... wow... that was... wow." stuttered Korra as she tried to untangle her tongue long enough to say something.

Asami smiled saying, "I guess that's one way to distract you." Korra flushed bright red. "Probably shouldn't let your enemies know or I'll have to get jealous." Here eyes widened slightly and she too flushed.

Korra looked at Asami and finally worked out exactly what she wanted to say for so long. Ever since they reunited she had noticed something different. Her heart would jump slightly whenever Asami was around. The burden she carried felt a little bit lighter and the world felt just a little bit brighter.

"Asami," she said seriously, "I love you."

Asami looked at her, "I know... and I love you too."

Korra realized that she didn't need a clearer answer. There was no doubt in her mind that the love that she held for Asami was the same love that Asami held for her. Smiling she pulled Asami out farther into the meadow. She was eccstatic. Nothing could go wrong. And then she tripped sending the two of them tumbling into the flowers at their feet. She didn't feel any pain she just lay there laughing. She looked to her side and saw that Asami had laughed to the point of tears. Her heart warmed seeing Asami so happy. For a long time she would smile but always had a meloncholy air to each smile. It was refreshing to see her best friend and person she loved smiling without a care in the world. She rolled over and knelt over Asami. Looking deep into her brilliant green eyes she saw the very woman she wanted to spend every moment of her life with. She leaned down and kissed Asami and when the kiss was returned she felt her heart race and her body warm.

It was still nighttime in the Spirit world but the stars shone bright in the inky blue night. Asami and Korra set up camp at the base of one of the larger trees that lay scattered about in the meadow. They were exhausted, it had only been a few hours since the end of the wedding and neither of them had slept as they had spent the time preparing. They crawled into their sleeping bags and, as they held hands, fell asleep facing one another, smiles on their face. As the night progressed the two unconsciously inched closer to one another until they were somewhat entwined. Breathing deeply they settled into their dreams.

It wasn't long before the sun began to rise casting the sky into an artistic splatter of delicate pink clouds contrasted against a brightening blue sky. The dawn's light spilled into the meadow and slowly crawled towards the camp.

The sunlight slowly illuminated the sleeping couple. As the sunlight crept up on them things started to warm up. Korra found herself almost uncomfortably warm and decided, against her better late rising instincts, to wake up. A soft light filled her closed eyes and soon it was impossible to ignore the light. She sat up rubbing her tired looking eyes.

_Hmmmmmm... I hate mornings..._

She stretched and looked to the pile of sleeping bag and Asami next to her. She was almost stunned to see that Asami's hair had become a chaotic ebony mess and the long locks covered her face. It was something she had never seen in the usually prim and proper woman.

_Well no wonder she can sleep. No sunlight can get through those gorgeous locks._

She reached over and brushed aside the hair to get a better look at Asami. Her face was absolutely beautiful. Even without the makeup her skin was like porcelin and her full lips practically glowed even without the crimson lipstick she generally wore. But then Korra saw her eyes. From the corners of her perfectly shaped eyes flowed a line of tears. She was crying.

"Dad... why dad... why did you have to go?" said Asami so quietly that Korra only barely caught the words.

Korra felt terrible. She had hoped the vacation would have distracted Asami from the horrible memories of the last day of fighting. Her reasons were partially selfish and that is what made her feel even worse. Korra didn't know what to do. She wanted to comfort Asami but it wasn't like she could relate. Her parents were fine and still alive. Asami, despite everything that had happened had just lost her father. What was worse was that they had finally made peace with everything that had happened four years ago.

Korra crawled closer to Asami who was still quietly crying to herself in her sleep. She carefully slipped herself into Asami's sleeping bag and held her gently letting her sob quietly into her chest. It was as much as Korra felt she could do. She couldn't always be the one that needed help. This time she was committed to helping Asami as much as Asami had helped her.

"I'm here Asami... I'm here...," Korra whispered, "I will never leave your side. No matter what."

The light was still weak and Korra was starting to feel sleepy again. She wanted to stay awake but it had grown difficult. She closed her eyes intending only to rest them, but her eyelids grew heavy and she eventually drifted into sleep again.

* * *

><p>It was a nightmare. Asami was back in the hummingbird. She saw a spiderweb crack form as ice from the frozen arm cracked and broke off slamming into the window. She looked down and saw her father jaw set and eyes determined. His forehead beaded with sweat from concentrating.<p>

"Dad! We need to go NOW!" her pleas were oddly muffled as though she wore earplugs.

The colossal arm broke free of the ice and began swinging down at a terrifying speed.

"Goodbye Asami. I love you."

Before she could say anything her father flipped the ejection switch but only for her seat. She felt a sudden jerk and a blast of air as her seat flew out the back of the hummingbird. She watched in horror as the hand of the colossal mech smashed the hummingbird with her father inside.

"NOOOOOOO!" she screamed, but the cries were still muffled. Her hand reached out trying to get back to the crushed mech despite knowing it was fruitless. The crumpled and flattened body of the mech slipped into the city wreckage below.

She had lost count of the number of times she had seen the nightmare. She didn't understand, she had gone to sleep happy knowing that Korra felt the same about her as she did about Korra. But the warmth of that quickly faded and she plunged into a never ending loop of worst moment in her life. Darkness enveloped her and she closed her eyes as tightly as she could praying that the scene wouldn't repeat but knowing that it would and that it would haunt her forever.

But this time it didn't repeat. She felt a warmth and cautiously cracked an eye open. She saw a light shining in the darkness. A soft words drifted from the light but she couldn't make sense of them. She crawled towards the light and heard Korra's voice.

"I'm here... Asami... I'm here." The voice was muffled but it was definitely Korra. "I'll never leave your side... No matter what."

Asami felt her heart jump as she heard those words. She scrambled closer to the light and reached out to pull it closer. Her hands surrounded the light and she pulled it to her chest. The darkness pulled back, its oily edges kept at bay by the light. The light's warmth soothed her aching heart and brought peace to her battered soul. The darkness was still there and it was still powerful but as long as she had the light she felt safe... and loved... And she knew in her heart that she was not alone and that she never would be again.

* * *

><p>Asami woke up and found her face buried in Korra's chest and her arms wrapped gently around her head. Korra's shirt was damp with Asami's tears. She pulled back slightly catching a view of Korra sleeping. Her face was peaceful but still betrayed a hit of concern. Concern that had driven her to comfort Asami even while she was asleep and trapped in her dream.<p>

She pulled herself up until her face was level with Korra's. She looked into her sleeping face and then kissed her lightly on the lips.

"Thank you..." a single tear traced a glistening line down Asami's face. She wiped it away and settled back into sleep, safe in Korra's arms. The nightmare didn't return.

* * *

><p>Hey Readers, Hope you enjoyed the true first chapter of this fic. As always leave any comments and criticisms you'd like. I like getting in touch with my readers so feel free to leave me messages. I will do my best to respond. I hope you enjoy the later content.<p> 


	3. Chapter 2: An Old Friend

**Chapter 2:** An Old Friend

Korra woke up as the sun shone over the crystalline peaks surrounding the valley. The sky was a vibrant shade of blue and speckled with clouds. She smiled as she remembered Iroh telling her that her mood could drastically affect the weather in the Spirit World. She felt wonderful. In the matter of a few hours her life had taken a drastic turn for the better. She had realized her feelings for Asami after they had started regularly exchanging letters. But it was only recently that she acted on those feelings. She reached up to touch her lips remembering each kiss they had shared.

She felt Asami shift next to her. She was a fascinating and beautiful mess. It seemed that the only time Asami didn't look completely pristine was after waking up. Her hair was an unkempt ebony mop. Korra brushed the hair out of Asami's face and lay there content to watch her sleep. After a few minutes Asami's eyes fluttered and opened.

"Morning," said Korra smiling.

"Mmm…," Asami rubbed her eyes, shaking the last remnants of sleep off, "Surprising to see you up first. I thought you weren't a morning person."

Korra shrugged. Something about her current situation had made her get up. "Probably just a special case today."

"What time is it?"

"Not sure," Korra looked to the sky noting that the sun hovered a few inches off of the peaks of the mountains around them, "probably not more than a few hours after sunrise."

Asami sat up and stretched sunlight shone through her thin white shirt showing her fine features in silhouette. Korra blushed and looked away. Asami noticed this and leaned towards her.

"You can't be shy now, I mean there's so much for us to explore," she teased. Then gently pulling Korra's face back to her she leaned in for a gentle kiss. She broke away and smiled. "So what did you have planned for today?"

"To be honest I didn't really have a plan when I asked you on this vacation. I kind of just wanted to get away from everything." She thought for a moment. "You know what, let's go visit an old friend. Probably going to have to look for him. The portal opened up somewhere I don't recognize at all."

They packed up their camp and started exploring. Asami had brought her notebook and started to sketch out a rough map of the area. It wasn't long before they caught sight of Hai Riyo Peak. Korra knew that Iroh's place was within view of the towering mountain. It wasn't long before they came across a building that looked oddly out of place in the vast wilderness of the spirit world.

Iroh was tending to a small fire which sat under a pot of hot water. As Korra and Asami approached the old man noticed the pair. Smiling he waved them over.

"Hello Iroh," said Korra as she gave Iroh a hug.

The old man smiled, "Korra it's been quite some time since you last visited. I was beginning to think you had forgotten about me." He looked at Asami who had reverted to her usual stunning self. "Who's your friend here?"

"Ah, sorry, this is Asami. She's my…" Korra's voice trailed off as she looked at Asami as if asking permission.

"Girlfriend," said Asami as she shook Iroh's hand.

"Oh ho? Well never let it be said that the Avatar doesn't have wonderful taste in companionship," Iroh smiled, "Well you're just in time for tea, come have a seat."

When they had seated themselves Iroh fixed Korra with a steely gaze. "Now Korra, why the hesitation?"

"Well… to be honest," Korra started, "I wasn't sure how you'd react, and you're also the first person we've told. I mean this is probably as far from traditional as you can get."

Iroh looked at her sternly but kindly, "Korra, if there's one thing I've learned over my life it's that you should never be ashamed of who you are and the one you love. Besides love between two people regardless of any distinction is a beautiful thing and should always be celebrated."

"It's not like I'm ashamed… it's just… I don't know how other people will respond."

Iroh took a sip of tea, "Well that's not your problem now is it?"

"No I guess not."

Iroh retrieved a steaming pot of fresh tea and poured a cup for each of his guests. "So what brings you to the Spirit World Korra?"

"I... no. We wanted to get away from the physical world for a bit. Get away from everyone and spend some time together." Korra said as she held hands with Asami.

"Ahhh, well you chose a perfect time to visit. The weather has been fabulous, though I get the feeling you already know why," said Iroh smiling.

Asami looked confused, "Why's that?"

Iroh looked at Korra and then at Asami, "Korra never told you that the weather here is almost directly influenced by her mood? Even more so when she is present in the Spirit World."

"No, no she didn't," as she lightly punched Korra's shoulder earning herself a sheepish look.

"Well what can I say, I've been in a pretty good mood."

"Ah, enough about weather. I was wondering," Iroh's eyes lit up, "Do you enjoy Pai Sho Asami?"

"Actually yes, and I think it would be an honor to play with the Dragon of the West."

"Oho? That's a name I haven't heard in quite some time."

He opened a drawer built into the table they sat at and pulled out a worn but intricately detailed Pai Sho board. Asami and Iroh laid out their pieces and began to play. It wasn't long before Asami's brow furrowed as Iroh gained an advantage. The wily old general ultimately was victorious and left Asami in slight awe.

"I don't think I ever had a chance there," said Asami frowning.

"Oh don't sell yourself short like that. In fact that was the best game I've played in a while," said Iroh, "Your sense of strategy is impeccable Asami. You had a clear advantage about a third of the way into the game and it was a gambit on my part that ultimately gave me the advantage." Iroh chuckled, "I haven't had to use that gambit in several decades."

"You mean that… wait… when did you use the gambit?" asked Asami, "I don't remember any of your pieces ever being in jeopardy."

"A strategist never reveals his methods," grinned Iroh mischeviously, "Besides you wouldn't believe how crafty a gigantic tulip would be at this game."

"Gigantic… tulip?"

"Oh yes, I've played with and taught a wide assortment of spirits here." Iroh thought for a moment, "Why I must have taught at least several hundred spirits."

Asami looked shocked.

"Well I had to keep myself from getting bored somehow right? I mean tea is wonderful and all but Pai Sho is a completely different beast. Now where's Korra? It's about time for dinner."

"Dinner? There's food in the Spirit World?"

"Oh there is, it's delicious. And what's more? You never gain weight or even have to use the bathroom," said Iroh excitedly as he looked for Korra, "Ah there she is… oh my looks like she could use a bit of help."

The two looked over at Korra who had been playing with the Spirits. One of them, a guardian spirit had taken to sitting on Korra's chest. Looking like a cross between a lion and a dog it panted happily as Korra struggled to get out from under it.

Asami approached Korra who was pinned to the ground.

"Oh hey Asami," smiled Korra sheepishly, "You were so absorbed in your match that I wandered off to find some spirits and um… one of them overpowered me."

"You tried to wrestle it didn't you?" asked Asami

"I did no such… okay, yes." Korra blushed. Despite her personality shifting towards one of compassion and understanding she still liked to physically challenge herself.

"Well don't spend too long trapped under this guy or you'll miss dinner," laughed Asami.

"Dinner? Wait there's food in the Spirit World?"

"I know right? I was surprised too."

"Well I'll catch up with you as soon as I…," Korra paused as she launched herself into the air with a bit of earth bending. The guardian spirit yelped briefly and shrank. Korra landed gracefully on her feet and caught the now smaller spirit. "There you go." She dropped the spirit carefully on the ground. "Let's play again some other time alright?" The spirit barked happily and scampered away.

"So dinner huh?"

* * *

><p>Dinner was nothing Korra or Asami could have expected. The meal consisted of a wide variety of strange vegetables and some mushrooms. There wasn't much in terms of meat but Iroh swore that some of the mushrooms tasted like boar. Korra devoured the food while Asami ate rather calmly. The two of them sampled the boar flavored mushrooms but couldn't quite figure out the flavor. They did however agree that it tasted nothing like boar.<p>

The three of them were joined by several spirit friends Iroh had made during his many years in the Spirit World. Iroh's tulip spirit friend made an appearance and the two of them quickly got into a Pai Sho game on the side.

The night was filled with laughter and stories as Iroh recounted his adventures from his past. He told stories of his duel with dragons, which earned him his nickname. He told Korra and Asami about Zuko and how the wise old man they saw now was originally a honor crazed hot head who got in more trouble than Iroh could remember.

Korra talked at length about how she realized her feelings for Asami, about how they had started as rivals and eventually became fast friends. Then she talked about the three years they spent apart and how Asami was a large part of her recovery and determination to get past the things that haunted her.

Asami for the most part remained quiet only chipping in every now and then to correct something that Korra had made a mistake. She watched as Korra and Iroh chatted energetically and realized that the relationship the two shared was something she envied and had wished she could have had with her father. She made no mention of it as she didn't want to dull the evening's festivities with a sour mood so she simply smiled.

As the evening drew on Iroh suggested that Korra and Asami spend the night at his place. He had a small guest bed that the two could use. All he asked was that they "keep it down" which made both Korra and Asami blush furiously as both had toyed with the idea in their heads but neither had thought of taking the relationship to that level… at least not yet.

Korra and Asami shed their day clothes and donned evening wear. Korra chose a comfortable Earth Kingdom green tank and a pair of loose fitting comfortable pants. Asami chose to stick with the white shirt she had used the previous night and a pair of maroon shorts that didn't leave too much to the imagination.

* * *

><p>Korra had fallen asleep almost immediately after Asami gave her a quick kiss. Asami on the other hand had trouble sleeping. She lay in bed for what felt like hours staring at the ceiling. She tossed and turned trying to find a comfortable spot but that wasn't the issue. She still felt a twang of envy about the relationship Korra shared with Iroh. She understood Korra was a reincarnation of Aang and the previous Avatar had been close friends with Iroh and that the two naturally would be close friends, but at the same time the relationship felt something closer to a father or grandfather talking to their daughter or granddaughter and that was what Asami felt she missed.<p>

She rolled out of bed taking care not to wake Korra, who slept like a log. She donned a thick robe Iroh had left near the doorway and walked outside. She noticed Iroh sitting by a small firelight on the table they used during their afternoon tea.

Iroh looked up, "Can't sleep Asami?"

Asami shook her head, "No… something's keeping me up and I don't know how to deal with it."

"Well why don't you tell me about it."

"I don't know," Asami hesitated, "I don't want to bother you with my concerns."

"Asami, let me give you a piece of advice," said Iroh calmly, "but before I do that let's start another game of Pai Sho, I always find that it helps you keep your mind clear and focused."

As Iroh pulled the board and pieces out again he said, "I've picked up some useful advice in all the years I lived. One of them was what I told Korra earlier about never being ashamed of who she is and who she loves. The other one," he set the pieces out in their starting positions, "is probably more useful for you."

"What is it?"

"Let me demonstrate."

And so Asami and Iroh played another game of Pai Sho. This time the game flowed differently. Iroh set up a series of walls with his pieces which protected his key pieces but ultimately made him lose as Asami's more balanced strategy eventually overwhelmed his formations. After a brief final effort Iroh admitted defeat. He studied Asami closely and asked.

"So what did you learn from that game?"

"I…I'm not sure," said Asami, her voice wavering uncertainly.

"I'll give you a moment to think," said Iroh calmly.

"Hmmm… well you set up walls and defended but ultimately I was able to break through and win." Asami thought hard but still couldn't see the lesson.

"Let me explain," said Iroh. "I bottled up my pieces and over time I lost to you, but right before you won I was able to lash out a bit and take some pieces but not nearly enough to win the game."

Iroh took a breath and then poured the two of them some more tea. "The lesson is this, if you bottle up what you're feeling then eventually you will snap and lash out. No matter how strong a person is if they do not release what they feel then they will crack and sometimes that crack can hurt the people we love most.

"I saw you at dinner tonight. You were smiling but your smile bears the hints of a deeper sadness. You were thinking about my relationship to Korra and how we chatter on like old friends. Now if I might ask, why does that make you sad?"

"My father…," she fought down the horrid memories, "a good number of years ago he betrayed me and the rest of the world by working with a terrorist known as Amon to try and bring an end to the bending world. I know why he did it and after several years I was able to forgive him… but then shortly after I had forgiven him he sacrificed himself to both save me and help Korra in her most recent and potentially most difficult mission.

"What I'm saying is that… I envy your relationship with Korra. I wish that I had that kind of relationship with my father. I wish that I was able to talk to him like Korra talks to you. I wish…,"  
>she wiped the tears from her eyes, "I wish that he didn't die. I wanted him to live and see the things that I would do, the people that I love, and the future that I dream about. But most of all I wish I hadn't spent four years hating him and never talking to him." Asami cried silently and Iroh moved over next to Asami. He comforted her as she cried.<p>

"I know that losing your father must have been difficult. Believe me, when I lost my son my entire world collapsed. These feelings are not something you should bottle up. If you do it can only hurt you and those you love. It will hold you back like chains and until you accept it you will only continue to hurt and be hurt."

"I know but I don't want to put this on Korra. She's been through enough. Sometimes I feel like I need to be strong around her because she is strong herself."

"That's where you're wrong Asami. I've seen Korra when she was strong and also when she was weak. From what she said during dinner her weakest point was during the three years she spent recovering. You were there for her then and you saved her by sharing the burden she felt on her shoulders. Maybe this time you should let her share your burdens. We don't get through life alone Asami. We are not invincible, we are simply human and we need help. Letting someone in to help you may place burden on their shoulders too but for the ones that we love and that love us back it is a burden that we will gladly take.

"Think about what I said." Iroh got up and left Asami alone.

Asami sat at the table in the flickering firelight. Iroh was right, her bottled up feelings did hurt and letting them out did help but it wasn't enough to just let it out. She thought of Korra and all the things they had gone through. They had shared a lot of things both good and bad. She had seen the Korra's strength and also her greatest weaknesses and fears and in her darkest of times Korra had reached out to her for strength. Asami took a breath and thought.

_Korra relied on me to make it through her trials… maybe it's time I rely on her to get through mine._

She wiped the tears from her eyes and returned to the room. She turned after hanging up the robe and saw Korra lying awake with a face filled with concern.

"You okay?" asked Korra.

"Yeah…" she kissed Korra, "Much better now."

She crawled back into the bed and into Korra's arms. She knew the road ahead wouldn't be perfect but at least she could share it with Korra. For the second night in a row she slept soundly. 

* * *

><p>Hey Readers, I hope you've been enjoying this story so far. At this point in time I have one version of chapter three ready but I'm not particularly pleased with it so please be patient. I do like to involve my readers in my writing process so I pose a question to you, the readers.<p>

Would you like

A) A farewell scene between Iroh, Korra, and Asami

B) No farewell scene

C) GET ON WITH IT! (right to the action)


	4. Chapter 3: The Quiet Before the Journey

I do not own any of the characters in the following chapter. I only own my interpretation and my words. Read, Enjoy, Review (optional but appreciated)

**Chapter 3:** The Quiet Before the Journey

Sunlight slowly crawled into the valley where Iroh had made his home. Light slowly poured into the room in which Asami and Korra slept. Asami was the first to wake as the light from the window touched her eyes. She stirred and sat up slightly rubbing the sleep from her eyes. The light from the window creeped towards Korra who, instead of waking up to the light on her eyes, buried herself deeper in the blanket.

Asami smiled at this. Not wanting to disturb Korra she quietly extracted herself from the bed. She quickly donned the robe she had used the previous night and went into the kitchen. The house itself was empty. There was no hint of Iroh except for a small pot of fresh tea and a note that sat on a small table in the kitchen.

_I will be back soon. Enjoy the tea. - Iroh_

Asami grabbed the pot of tea and returned to the room where Korra was still hiding under the blanket. Asami sat next to a small table and poured a cup of tea. She watched the steam drift off the surface of the water. The room soon bore the fragrant smells of tea. Somehow the smell woke Korra up.

She stuck her head out of the blanket but kept the rest of her body inside. Looking like she had been partially devoured by a marshmallow. "Hey there beautiful." Korra said with a wide grin.

"Hi there." Asami drank the tea quickly to prevent herself from laughing at Korra's appearance. "How'd you sleep?"

"Warmly, "she smiled,"Where did you get the tea?" Korra stood up with blanket around her shoulders.

"Iroh, left a fresh batch and a note saying he'll be back soon."

"Really? I wonder where he got off to?"

"The note didnt say."

Korra shrugged as she shed the blanket. It fell onto the bedroll on the floor puffing up slightly as it trapped a bit of air under it. Without Korra to support it the blanket quickly deflated and settled. Korra stepped over to Asami and poured a cup of the tea. She drank it silently as Asami poured herself another cup.

"So where do you want to go?" asked Korra as they sat drinking tea.

"I really dont know," Asami admitted, "I dont know anything about the spirit world. I figured you would."

Korra blushed in slight embarassment, "To be honest the last time I was here I didn't pay attention to anything really. I probably have about as much idea of where to go as you do."

Asami chuckled, _Its so like her to have no plan_, she thought to herself. "Well I guess we might as well start exploring.

They walked outside and ran into Iroh who was just about to walk through the doorway.

"Korra! Asami!" Iroh's face broke into a brilliant smile. "I was just about to wake you."

"Good morning Iroh," said Korra, "Thank you for the tea."

"Oh it was nothing." chuckled Iroh, "Tea is one of my select few passions." He paused a moment and then asked, "So you are planning to leave soon?"

"Yes actually, we wanted to explore more of the Spirit World," said Asami, "We realized that neither of us really know this place as well as we'd like to."

"Ahhh well in that case I have a suggestion for where to go as well as a way to make your journey easier," he paused for a moment as Korra tilted her head inquisitively and Asami looked questioningly. "Maybe you should try visiting the Spirit Library of Wan Shi Tong."

A look of realization dawned on Korra, "I remember Jinora saying something about that place. She said it was a fascinating place of books... granted I dont particularly enjoy reading, but it sounds interesting."

"It is a fascinating place Korra, I think you and Asami would benefit from visiting."

Korra looked at Asami who looked curious if not somewhat confused. Before long Asami spoke.

"So what kind of place is this Spirit Library."

"Oh its a fabulous place filled with knowledge and information from all over both the Spirit World and the Physical World."

"Is it dangerous?"

"Now why would you think a library is dangerous?" Iroh paused for a moment, "Well I guess the librarian is a bit standoffish. He also is a bit of a hoarder. You will want to bring some information to give him. Maybe one item for each of you."

"Iroh, how are we supposed to get there?" asked Korra, "Jinora said she was taken there by one of the dragonfly bunny spirits."

"Ah, thats what I was solving for you earlier. Come outside."

He left the room followed by Korra and Asami. The sky was a brilliant blue speckled with the very slightest of clouds. Nearby Hai Riyo Peak towered into the sky higher than any skyscraper found in Republic City. The peak was shrouded in silvery clouds that obscured a clear view of what was up there. Iroh dissappeared behind a corner and Korra and Asami quickly followed. Sitting quietly behind the house was a gigantic dragon bird spirit. It had a sharp golden beak, massive wings accented with crimson feathers, and a long seemingly glowing golden mane.

"Iroh!" said Korra excitedly, "How come you didnt mention that you found him?"

"Him Korra?" Iroh looked somewhat bemused, "No no. This magnificent creature is a female. Granted I'm not entirely sure how that works but look, down near her feet."

Asami and Korra both looked down and saw a small cluster of crimson and magenta fledglings peering nervously from behind their mother's feet. Their large eyes stared at the two women as if cautiously evaluating them. Then from above the adult spirit gave a motherly coo which encouraged the chicks out from their hiding spot. They approached slowly. Apparently too slowly for their mother who bent down and gave the lot of them a nudge towards Asami. Three of the four birds chirped in surprise and skittered away leaving the fourth standing alone. Asami knelt down and held her hand out. She carried no food but the baby spirit didn't seem to mind. It courageously walked forward until just within reach of Asami who gave it a light scratch under its chin. Encouraged the spirit chirped and jumped on top of Asami's hand and ran up her arm. It settled itself in her dark curls and chirped happily.

"I think it likes you," said Korra smiling. She watched Asami as the baby bird played around on her shoulders.

"Glad to know it." Asami smiled as the bird jumped on top of her head and settled comfortably on top of it.

"Oho!" chuckled Iroh, "That's a pleasant sight. Normally dragon bird spirits are rather hard to befriend. Perhaps Korra's friendship with their mother made it easier for them to trust you."

"I didn't think of that," said Korra abssently stroking the long slender neck of the golden spirit next to her. "So you said that you had something to help us get to the Spirit Library?"

"Well I wouldnt say something," smiled Iroh, "Your standing right next to her."

Korra looked at the bird in surprise. "You want to help us get to the Spirit Library?"

As if understanding what she asked the bird cooed in acknowledgement.

"I found her wandering the Spirit World looking for you a few years back. It seemed that you had vanished and it had left her in a bit of a worried frenzy." Iroh approached and pet the bird himself. "Eventually she found this tea house and over time settled down. This is the first time I have seen her in some time. I guess she was caring for her children." He looked over at Asami who was now kneeling on the grass playing with the rest of the baby spirits who chattered happily while receiving extra attention.

"Well girl I'm hoping you know the way cause I definitely don't." said Korra stroking the spirit's feathers.

The spirit cooed and lowered its neck inviting Korra onto its back. Korra climbed on and extended a hand to Asami who took it climbing up with the small flock of baby dragon bird spirits. The babies scurried from Asami over to the thick glowing mane of their mother and settled in.

They said farewell to Iroh who waved kindly and then returned to his home, presumably to make some more tea. The dragon bird spirit rose from its resting position and took to the skies. Wind blasted through Korra and Asami's hair making it hard to see. Asami tightened her grip around Korra's waist as she saw the ground seemingly race away from them. Korra placed a reassuring hand on Asami's clasped hands and looked back. Her eyes shone with excitement and joy.

"You know," she yelled back as the wind was too strong for them to speak normally, "I don't think there is anyone else I'd rather be doing this with!"

"I hope not!" yelled back Asami, "I'll have you know I'm the jealous kind of girlfriend."

Korra laughed as they raced towards the sun and towards the Spirit Library. They weren't sure what they would find there but they knew that that was the entire point of the adventure. And so they flew onwards ever chasing the sun.

* * *

><p>Hi readers, thanks for reading this chapter. I know its a short one. I'll be uploading Chapter 4 soon. Look forward to it. After chapter 4 I'm thinking of doing some interludes before turning back to our two leading ladies. Let me know what you think.<p> 


	5. Chapter 4: Owl You Can Read

**Chapter 4:** Owl You Want to Read

_In retrospect chasing the sun may have been a mistake. Note, if you ever make a commercial airplane, give it window shutters._

They had been flying for what seemed like hours. It didn't help that they flew towards the sun never quite letting it set on them. The golden light made them feel tired but the intensity was still too much to allow for sleep. They tried taking turns at napping but that was only a half measure for what they really needed. Korra trying to sleep and Asami held onto her as the dragon bird spirit soared through the sky. Far below a veritable tapestry of colors rushed by, occasionally shrouded by the clouds they flew over.

_What a fantastic place, I hope we can explore more of this place._

Asami found it difficult to sketch a map while they flew as Korra was not exactly the most graceful of nappers. She would shift every so often trying to find a more comfortable position. Unfortunately this meant that Asami had to repeatedly adjust her arms just so she could make the sketches. It wasn't that she didn't expect to be able to make it back to Republic City it was just that she wanted a rudimentary map that she could base future exploration on.

The dragon bird spirit started a gentle descend.

_We must be getting close._

Asami nudged Korra who snapped awake. Korra too noticed the slight descent and shook her head slightly banishing the last vestiges of her nap. The descent passed silently as the dragon bird spirit descended into a thick forest of shadows and tremendously thick vines. It navigated through the tangle of foliage, dodging trees and diving under vines. It wasn't long before they saw something that didn't quite match the foliage around them. White stone.

It was the Spirit Library. It looked as though a massive building of white marble had fallen from the sky and had gotten tangled up in the thick vines of the forest. There were no visible supports leading from its bottom point to the ground. It hung amongst the trees and leaves suspended in all its incredible size by the vines. It was difficult to make out the details of the building but from the little light that did pierce the thick canopy above Korra and Asami were able to discern a number of peaked domes and sharpened spires. It was architecture that looked foreign to all four of the nations of the world.

"Hey can we slow down a little?" asked Asami, "I want to get a picture of this."

Korra nodded speechlessly still somewhat struck dumb by the Library. She gently stroked the neck of the dragon bird spirit who somehow understood what she and Asami wanted and settled in for a gentle glide around the structure. Korra heard rapid scratches of a pencil across paper as Asami quickly and accurately sketched a picture of the Library. The picture did the actual majesty of the structure no justice but it was just a quick sketch.

"Ok, done."

The bird resumed its flight closer to the Library. As it approached it flew up towards the top of the structure. The top of the structure was lost into the dark canopy wrapped tightly by obscuring vines. Around the line at which the structure melded into the forest above was a large platform and a large set of doors. The dragon bird spirit landed on the platform and lay down to let Asami and Korra disembark.

Korra jumped off first landing gently under a small puff of air. Asami slid down the spirit's side. The long journey had worn them down quite a bit and they felt it would be better to take the night for rest rather than force themselves to explore with their minds half occupied by exhaustion.

"Should we make camp somewhere on this platform?" asked Asami as she stretched her shoulders now that her pack was resting on the floor against her leg.

"Probably, it's not like we really have anywhere else to sleep," said Korra with a shrug. "I'm going to go check on our friend for a bit. She looks… nervous."

Asami looked over at the dragon bird spirit. Korra was right there was an air of apprehension coming from the spirit. It lay on the platform slightly protecting herself. Her eyes glanced from one shadow to another. Her babies were hiding deep in their mother's mane refusing to come out.

"Korra, I think she's afraid of something."

"Hmmm… I think you're right."

Korra approached the spirit to see if she could calm it down. She reached up and stroked it on the neck, she felt it shiver slightly despite the temperature around them not being particularly cold.

"Asami, would you mind if I let the spirit go on its way for now? I'm pretty sure it will come back and help us get back to where we started later."

"Yeah, I don't know what she's scared of but I'd rather her and her children be safe."

"Alright, thanks."

Korra turned back to the golden spirit and said, "Thanks for getting us here. You can go now."

The spirit looked at Korra and then looked at Asami. It continued to look at Asami almost asking if she would come closer. Asami walked towards the spirit and from the golden mane one of the baby spirits stuck its head out, its beak held an oddly shaped object. It was a thick scale-like object with two slots cut out. The baby spirit dropped the object into Asami's outstretched hand with a chirp and then retreated back into the safety of its mother's mane.

The large spirit cooed as Asami examined the object. It was something of a whistle.

"Korra, I think she wants us to use the whistle to call her back."

The spirit nodded.

"I also think she can understand us."

The spirit tilted its head.

"Or maybe not."

The spirit looked at Korra and Asami one more time, seemingly satisfied at their situation the spirit rose from her position on the marble platform and once again took to the skies trailing its long tail and a gust of wind. As its glowing form faded into the distance Asami suddenly felt a chill crawl up her spine. It felt like the chill had always been there but that the presence of the spirit had held it off.

"Did you feel that?" she asked Korra looking at her.

"Yeah," Korra replied, "Something is strange about this place."

The chill abated and the two of them relaxed a bit but remained somewhat wary. Together they walked towards the entrance of the Library. The entrance was blocked by an enormous set of dark wooden doors carved with intricate patterns. Its sheer size felt intimidating and that was just the doors. They couldn't see the rest of the structure but knew that if they did they would feel even more miniscule than the doors made them feel already.

Sunlight was already fading in the forest as little light pierced the canopy above. Korra and Asami set up a small camp off to the side of the doors near some of the vines that fell from the dark canopy above. They set about gathering what dry plant matter they could find. They made sure that nothing they took was still connected to the large vines as experience had taught them that angering anything with a spirit nature was just asking for problems. Korra had also scrounged up some of the white stone that looked as though it had been broken off of the rest of the structure due to the passage of time. With these they made a small fire to warm themselves. The two of them sat in the rapidly darkening forest illuminated by the warm light of the fire.

"What do you think we're going to find in there?" asked Asami as she and Korra looked at the massive doors.

"I don't know. Jinora wasn't very specific about what she saw in the library. She said the librarian was something of a 'scary old bird' but even I'm not a hundred percent sure what that means. Especially since this is the spirit world and the normal rules don't seem to apply."

"Fair enough." Asami knew what she wanted to find. She was hoping to find some information she could bring back to help with the expansion of Republic City as well as something to drive her future projects forward. She looked over at Korra who was sitting with her knees drawn up to her face. She looked into the fire her eyes somewhat concerned.

"What is it?" Asami asked pulling herself closer to Korra.

"I don't know," said Korra not looking at her, "I'm not sure what to make of all of this."

"All of what?"

"This. This vacation. Us. Us as girlfriends." Korra continued to stare into the fire. "I know that Iroh said that anyone else's opinion about us was their problem not ours but I can't seem to shake this feeling that something will happen. I have this dark worry that someone or something will try to use you against me or me against you. And that scares me." She pulled her knees closer trying to stop herself from shaking.

"Korra. You're the most powerful woman on the face of the planet. If there is anyone that can solve problems it's you."

"But what if they capture you and use you to make me do something that affects the balance of the worlds?"

"You can't dwell in what ifs. If you do you will never see what is right in front of you. And that in itself is dangerous."

Korra took a deep breath and let her legs draw away from her face. Her face was still worried but it was less than just a moment ago so it was improvement.

"Don't worry so much. Besides it's not like I'm some damsel in distress. I can pack a pretty mean punch."

Asami formed a fist and smiled. This made all the worry vanish from Korra's face.

"I forgot that I'm not the only one that can pummel people into unconsciousness… though granted you usually electrocute them."

"Yep, me and my trusty shock gauntlet liberated from the Equalists."

Korra laughed as she remembered all of the times that Asami had proven herself to not simply need help and just how many foes had fallen to her vicious martial arts and shock gauntlet.

"Alright, I guess I really don't have to worry about you," admitted Korra, "Though I have to ask, how is that glove still working? I mean it's been years since you stole it."

"Well it's not like I just leave the thing lying around." A few weeks after I got it I had more or less taken it apart and reassembled it. Over the years I've added a few extra functions. A couple years ago you told me about Equalists with gloves that could shoot blasts of electricity or shock people from a bit farther than direct contact."

"Oh yeah… the time I vanished for a week to fight some crazy ancient king with a grudge against me."

"Yeah, so I set about figuring out how to do that. And, being the genius that I am, I figured out both functions and made my own improvements. Let's just hope I never have to use them."

"I feel sorry for the person that 'traps' you in a room with some tools and machines."

Asami laughed with Korra. It felt good to laugh. Recent times had not really allowed for too much levity. Their exhaustion soon washed over them and they decided to sleep. Asami lay out the sleeping bags. Korra prodded the fire with one of the longer sticks. She spread out the coals letting the fire die down a little. It would keep them warm but not disturb their sleep. The two of them changed out of their day clothes. They changed facing away from each other as Korra had, with a face red as a tomato, insisted that they change that way. They settled into their sleeping bags and faced each other. It wasn't long before they combined their bags into a larger mattress not being satisfied at the distance, however slight, between them. They curled up in each other's warmth and fell asleep in the darkness of the forest.

An odd rustling sound disturbed Korra's slumber. She opened her eyes but failed to see anything in the darkness that surrounded them. The rustling was accompanied by an odd ticking sound. It was rhythmic and consistent and yet Korra couldn't place what could make the sound. She faces away from the fire and yet knew that she wouldn't be able to see anything as the fire had died long ago and now was nothing more than charred remains of scavenged plant life.

_Rustle rustle… tictictic tictictic…_

The sound repeated over and over. Korra felt herself tense as the sounds grew closer. She prepared to defend herself and Asami but at the same time had this feeling in the back of her mind that told her she was in no danger. The years of fighting and training had honed her senses to a razors edge. Her senses had been refined to such a degree that she swore she could feel danger causing the hairs on the back of her neck to prickle.

And yet this sound, despite sounding rather sinister, didn't give her that feeling. She tried to roll over and get a view of whatever was making the noise in the darkness but found the arms around her tightening and Asami moaning quietly as the movements disturbed her sleep. Korra surrendered to Asami's arms and remained still listening to the sound getting louder but still not giving her the sense of danger she had grown used to.

The noise stopped.

"Hmph… humans…"

The voice was low and rumbled quietly. It was not threatening but did bear a strong taste of contempt. The rustling and ticking resumed and slowly faded. Then a loud roar echoed through the darkness. The sound of the heavy wooden doors of the Library sliding open, their weight rubbing against the polished stone floor. The rustling faded even farther away. Korra strained her ears attempting to catch any stray sounds. None came and they were alone again in the darkness.

_What on earth was that?_ She thought as she settled back into the covers to sleep. But her mind was too tired to keep thinking. Settling in and pulling Asami's arms tighter around her body she thought, _Oh well, guess we'll find out tomorrow._

The first beams of light pierced the thick canopy above and shone right onto Korra who woke up. She rubbed her eyes blearily and gently roused Asami. She wasn't sure if what she had heard the previous night was a dream or real. Erring on the side of caution she decided that it was probably read and that something was inside the Library waiting. Looking at the doors she found her assumption confirmed. The massive doors of the Library were opened. But the doors did not bear a friendly "welcome in" air about them, more of an "enter at your own peril" feel. The two of them crawled out of bed, changed into their day gear, drank some cold tea left over from what Iroh had given them, and packed up their camp.

"You don't look like you slept very well," said Asami as she looked over Korra. Korra's eyes were slightly red and the skin around them was slightly puffy.

"Not really, woke up to some strange sounds," admitted Korra, "I think something went inside the Library while we slept." She pointed at the doors, "The doors are open now and they weren't last night."

"Hmmmm…" Asami brought her hand up to her lips as she did when she was thinking of something. "Still want to go in?"

"Well I didn't sense any danger last night and I still don't feel anything now. It can't be that bad right?" Korra wished she believed in the confidence her own voice held.

"Well, worst case scenario you can probably get us out of it with a bit of bending," shrugged Asami.

They walked through the doors and were treated to the view of an enormous Library illuminated by dim blue light. Shelves lined their path soaring into the air and into the darkness. They were filled to the brim with books. The spines of these books bore markings in a variety of languages. Some Korra and Asami recognized, others were a complete mystery. As they walked forward they caught sight of some fox like spirits doing something with the information sitting in the shelves. They were too busy to pay them any notice. The Library was deathly quiet save for the Korra and Asami's footsteps which echoed into the distance.

They walked past thousands upon thousands of books all neatly arranged on the shelves. After they had walked for some time they reached the central chamber. The Library suddenly opened up into a large vaulted room with nothing but a four way bridge at the very center. High above them was a large mural made from colored translucent glass. This glass let in light from outside illuminating the insides of the Library. But even this light did not dispel the darkness that was everywhere. Korra and Asami carefully walked onto the four way bridge. They cautiously looked down past the bridge and saw more levels and more books stretching down into the dark void below.

"This Library… is enormous," said Asami her voice echoing in the silence, "There must be so much information here. I wonder what we can find."

"Knowing how many books there are, probably everything," said Korra with a slight grin.

"You think they'll let us borrow anything?" Asami's eyes shone with amazement and wonder as she scanned the area.

Before Korra could respond a strong gust blasted into them throwing up the dust of countless millennia. A dark shadow descended from the ceiling bringing with it the sound of a massive pair of flapping wings. Korra instinctively stepped in front of Asami protecting her from any forward attack.

"Hmph… humans…"

Korra recognized the voice, it was the same voice that had said those exact words the previous night.

The gigantic owl stared at them, its ink black eyes felt as though they pierced their souls.

"I… am Wan Shi Tong, He Who Knows 10,000 Things. And you have stepped into my Library to which you are not welcome. Leave."

"We're not here to steal any information," said Korra as she raised her hands defensively, "We're on vacation and just wanted to visit."

"As I said, you are not welcome here, no human is. Your kind is too prone to war and violence and I will have no part in it."

"But you must know that the fighting is over right? We've attained balance, changed the world." Korra protested. She lowered her hands and entered a neutral position. "You must know by now that there is a new Spirit Portal that has opened up."

"Oh I know Avatar Korra," the owl's voice dripped with contempt, "I know all of the things that you've done. Most of it with your fists."

"I…" Korra went silent, she knew that most of the problems she had faced in recent years had been solved by punching them. It was only the last confrontation between herself and Kuvira that hadn't ended in a complete brawl. "You're right. I am prone to fighting. But I'm asking you now. May we stay here and see some of the information you have collected?"

"No."

"Why?" the question came from Asami who had walked out and stood next to Korra. "Why would you deny us? Why let us enter in the first place if you were just going to kick us out? Why do you hate humans so much?"

"Why do I deny you?" said Wan Shi Tong bristling with barely subdued rage, "The last time I let humans use the information here they used it for war. Avatar Aang and his compatriots took information that they used to stage a massive assault on the fire nation. Before that, General Zhao took information from this library and used it to murder one of the twin spirits of the North. I could name thousands of other instances but every time a human has stepped in here asking for information they have turned that knowledge towards war and violence. Frankly, I'm sick and tired of it. So. Leave."

Asami stood her ground unflinching in front of the angry librarian. "I get it. At every point you feel you've been betrayed and that your precious information has been abused. I get it. But why do you keep letting them come in? You must have some faith in humanity otherwise you would have permanently closed your library and never let the information inside see the light of day."

Wan Shi Tong sighed, he sounded exhausted. "To be honest, I do have faith in humanity. In the last few decades I have seen more innovation and creativity from mankind than ever before. I have seen humanity improve their lives by leaps and bounds. But at the same time I have seen that many people still turn to violence. Crime is still a problem even within the city. Some individuals are warmongers regardless of their agenda." Wan Shi Tong closed his eyes, "I want to believe that this time the information will be used for the good of all mankind. I just…"

Wan Shi Tong slumped slightly looking more old and ancient than ever before. After a short time the old owl straightened up. "Very well Asami, companion to the Avatar. I will permit you to seek some information within these walls. But first you must offer up a piece of information yourself." He looked over at Korra, "Avatar Korra. In respect for your actions in bringing balance to the world I will not ask for anything… this time." He turned back to Asami, "Now, for your contribution."

Asami put down her bag and unfurled her rough sketch of the map of the Spirit World. Wan Shi Tong bent down and looked at it closely.

"Hmmmmmm… fine work there young lady, a bit rough for my tastes but I suppose it will do. Mapping out the Spirit World is no small task. I've been at it for quite some time. The addition of a new Spirit Portal changed some things so this rough sketch will help clarify my own map."

Wan Shi Tong glanced at one of the knowledge seekers who tugged the map out of Asami's hands and ran off to catalogue it.

"Hey, we still need that to get back!" Asami called after the fox spirit, "I was going to make a copy for you."

"Fear not young lady. The Knowledge Seeker is simply adding the new information to our archive. It will return shortly." Wan Shi Tong studied Asami with his piercing black eyes. "For the first time in a long time I sense something different about you young lady that I haven't sensed in quite some time." Wan Shi Tong narrowed his eyes, "For once, I sense a dedicated drive to improve the world and one that doesn't involve conquest. Interesting. Maybe I should start taking more faith in humanity once more. Perhaps one day this Library will be open to all."

Wan Shi Tong looked across both Korra and Asami, "Feel free to stay for as long as you need. I do warn you that though this is a Library it can be quite dangerous. Several individuals have… perished during their studies here… regrettable but their lust for knowledge became their undoing. Take care." He stretched out his massive wings and took flight again disappearing into the darkness.

Asami let out a huge sigh of relief. "Spirits! I thought he was going to eat both of us."

"I can still hear you!" Wan Shi Tong's voice echoed back at them.

"Sorry!" called back Asami flushing out of embarrassment.

"Quiet this is still a Library."

Asami went quiet. She walked up to Korra and almost collapsed into her arms. It really had been quite terrifying facing down a gigantic hostile owl. Her legs felt soft and didn't want to support her. Korra sat her down against the side wall of the bridge and smiled.

"Well at least I can say my girlfriend is one hell of a disputant." She said with a wide grin.

Asami punched her lightly, "And don't you forget it."

"So what did you want to learn here?"

"Well, mostly I just want to learn some new things that I can take back to Republic City and help with the city expansion plan. It's going to be all business time once we get back."

"All business time? At least cut out some time for me," said Korra, "Besides you'd probably go insane working so much."

"Well I guess I could use a pleasant distraction or two," Asami smiled mischeviously. "We'd better get cracking huh?"

"Probably should start, I would hate to get trapped here for eternity. Libraries kind of bore me."

They looked at each other and then broke into hysterics, the sound of their laughter echoing through the Library. The two waved over some Knowledge Seekers and asked for something to read. Asami asked for a book on architecture and building design. Korra asked for some information on previous Avatars. The fox-like spirits soon returned with a thick tome for Asami and an even larger scroll for Korra. Asami flipped open the book and began reading. Every now and then she would pull Korra away from her scroll to show her some interesting design. As she read she sketched in her notebook. Soon she had dozens of rough sketches of buildings she wanted to start working on. Unbeknownst to Korra there was a page deep within the notebook that had some rough sketches of a home. Asami felt it was too soon to bring up living together but that didn't stop her from designing something of a dream home for the two of them.

Korra dived into the histories and tales of former Avatars. What she found was tale after tale of Avatars who faced difficult and sometime impossible challenges. The scroll felt less like reading a dry history and more like reading an epic novel filled with fictional heroes. Stories of heroes both willing and unwilling. Tales of peace and conflict. Stories of great joy and terrible tragedy. As she read she felt a deep sorrow over her lost connection to her former lives. Reading about her former lives was one thing, talking about it face to face was something else. As she read she would occasionally pull Asami away from her book and make her read some of the more interesting stories. While Asami was consumed in her studies Korra made a few requests. She asked for a book on notable locations in the Spirit World figuring that she might as well figure out where to go next.

_Hmmmm… The Springs of Peace…_ thought Korra. The book indicated that it was a location that contained natural hot springs said to 'rejuvinate the spirit'. _Well I could definitely use some of that,_ she thought smiling to herself. It had been a few days since the start of their vacation and despite having not gotten dirty or really even sweated, Korra felt an aching desire for a nice long soak in some steaming water.

_Sounds perfect…_

They read until the light started to fade. As the library grew dark the Knowledge Seekers started vanishing one by one, presumably into whatever area they slept in. Korra and Asami both felt the day wearing on them. Satisfied with the things they learned they decided to settle in for the night.

"So I was thinking," said Korra as they changed their clothes, "I was thinking we should go visit another place tomorrow."

"Sure, what did you have in mind?" said Asami glancing over her shoulder.

"I was thinking maybe we should go take a nice soak in some hot springs."

"They have those here?" said Asami, surprised, "I can't say I expected that to exist in the Spirit World."

"Yeah well I found it in a small book of notable locations."

"Well that sounds as good of an idea as any," said Asami as she crawled between the sheets. "It actually sounds like a wonderful idea."

Korra pulled the covers over the both of them and it wasn't long before warmth and comfort guided them to sleep.

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><p>Hey readers, hope you have enjoyed this chapter. Personally I'm not super happy with the way the chapter ended but I kind of just wanted to get the ball rolling. In short i think I've done enough sleep scenes for the time being (they all kind of feel the same after a while). SO A CHANGE OF PACE! The next chapter is going to be a slight deviation from the two ladies we all love and adore. Its going to focus a bit on the other characters from the show and what they're up to while these two are on their vacation. This gives me a bit of time to change up my writing and add a bit more spunk into my stories. The chapter after that will return to our leading ladies with a hot and steamy hot spring episode (get your minds out of the gutter I'm not writing a lemon... yet). Anyways my plan is to upload a chapter or two each week depending on how happy I am with the writing. Thank you for the reviews and the interest. If you have anything that you'd like me to include just send me a PM or post it in a review. I love including my readers in my creation process. But for now you get a small preview of what might happen in the next chapter.<p>

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><p><em>I. Am. So. Bored.<em> Thought Bolin as he lay upside down on his couch in his new apartment. With a deep sigh he tried to think of something to do...

Mako nearly choked on his drink. He watched as Prince Wu tried to get a girl to dance with him... he failed spectacularly...

Opal stood outside of a green door nervously. She had come back from ZhaoFu a few days early and wasn't sure what she wanted to do...

_This... is chaos..._ Tenzen sat with tired eyes attempting to meditate as Rohan tugged at his fathers beard and Milo chased his brother around on an air scooter... _Deep breaths... deep... calming... breaths..._


	6. Chapter 5: Mayhem in the Springs

I do not own any of the characters in the Legend of Korra. I only own the words I use to bring my imagination to life.

**Chapter 5:** Mayhem in the Springs

"This place is beautiful!"

Korra had to agree with Asami's assessment. The place was a fabulous wonderland. A light snow fell from the sky adding a pure white blanket across the stones around them. Before them stood an ancient looking archway bearing the word 'Peace'. The faded crimson arch was set into charcoal black bases. It was the gateway into a lush forest highlighted by snow. The physical world was supposed to have places like this but in all their time traveling neither Korra nor Asami had ever chanced upon such a location.

The air was frigid but motionless which allowed the snow to drift gently from the silvery clouded sky. Korra watched as Asami spun happily in the snow. Tiny flakes settled in her hair giving her normally gorgeous ebony locks a look she had never seen before. She wondered what her own hair looked like and absentmindedly brushed it with one of her hands sending a few snowflakes tumbling onto her shoulder.

"Now I really wish we had a camera," said Asami as she walked up to Korra. She had stopped spinning but grinned happily. "I wish we could have pictures of all the places we've been to."

"Maybe you should just invent a smaller camera," said Korra jokingly.

"Is that a challenge?" said Asami smiling, "Because if it is this smaller camera will definitely be made."

"Of that I have no doubt."

Asami was brilliant. In many ways she was the complete opposite of Korra. Her grace, charm, and poise clearly set her apart from the average individual. Her mind could compete if not outpace the most brilliant minds in the world. She could fit into any sort of dress and make it look thousands of times more beautiful than the designer would have ever thought. Korra smiled to herself as she thought, _and the best thing? I'm in love with her and she loves me back._

"Korra!" Asami called from the archway, "Stop daydreaming and get overhere!"

Korra jogged up to Asami and slowed. The archway looked much older than she had expected. The wood was cracked in a thousand places and the colors were even more faded from up close. But despite its apparent age it looked as though it had been cared for by someone, or something as she had recently come to realize, that loved the place very much.

"Come on. I can't wait to see these hot springs you mentioned."

"It was just a place on a map. I'm not even sure if they're still here."

"Oh I'm sure that old bird keeps his information up to date."

Korra and Asami stepped through the archway into a vastly different world. The air was still cold but gone were the gentle snows as the thick canopy of leaves above caught all of the flakes. Gone was the soft light emanating through the clouds. These were replaced by the lush greens of leaves that had not gathered snow. The subtle noises of the spirit world were muted in the forest leaving them in a relaxing quiet. The stones beneath their feet formed a path that led deeper into the forest. It was a shadowy forest and yet it felt warm and inviting as if they were stepping into the new home of an old friend.

Scattered throughout the forest trees were bundles of bamboo that raced high into the canopy vanishing from view. Some light filtered down through the leaves sending soft streams of light in pillars from the sky lighting their way making the stones appear as though they were on the bottom of a riverbed. As they walked deeper the trees grew fewer and the bamboo shoots gathered in number. Soon there were no trees left and they found themselves inside a lush grove of bamboo.

"Wow…" said Asami her eyes wandering all around. "How do they get so tall?"

"I... am definitely not the one to ask about that," said Korra absentmindedly. She looked up seeing flecks of the silvery sky peeking through the small holes in the canopy.

It didn't feel like they walked for very long before they reached a clearing in the bamboo. The path continued deeper into the forest but Korra knew, from her memory of the map, that the clearing was where they wanted to be. She stepped through the gap in the bamboo and another place of beauty filled her vision.

The large and numerous bamboo shoots had concealed a steamy paradise from the outside world. Here she found a small spring cut out of the stones of the mountain above them. Steam drifted lazily from the hot water in the lake shrouding the entire area in a warm fog. The water in the spring was a crisp tea green and had hundreds of bamboo leaves gently floating on its reflective surface. The stone in the area was covered in a thin blanket of snow though it was clear that the water was hot as much of the snow had retreated from the waterline.

Korra's eyes grew wider with every passing second as if trying to drink in the beauty of the place. Asami stood next to her, mouth slightly open. Both were stupefied by the place. A moment passed as the two absorbed everything about the spring before them. Asami managed to break out of her trance first. She looked at Korra who still stared in wide eyed wonder. She gently weaved her fingers between Korra's which jerked the girl out of her trance.

"Shall we?"

Korra nodded enthusiasticly as her words failed her.

They set their packs against one of the sheer faces of the mountain above after determining that it would remain dry. Korra stretched feeling the tension in her still healing body. She couldn't wait to get into the steaming water and just relax. She reached up and took off her coat. The cold air brushed her skin making her shiver slightly. Next she pulled off her boots placing her bare feet on the warm stones. These two items she set off to the side next to her pack. As she straightened up she saw Asami.

Asami had already stripped off her jacket and boots. She had also taken off her pants and was about half way done taking off her shirt. The buttons along its centerline were about half way down exposing her pale skin and the fine curves of her chest. This was decorated with an elegant black bra bearing some delicate lotus patterns. Her milky white legs extended out from under her shirt, gloriously long and beautiful. All of this left very little to her imagination. Korra spun away feeling her face flush and heat. Somehow, against all conceivable odds, she had forgotten that enjoying a hot spring usually required one to strip down… Naked. Her face grew hot and she was certain it was red as a tomato. Part of her wanted to whirl around and push Asami down on the ground and just have her way. The other part, the apparently logical part, sputtered and blubbered as it resisted the carnal urges.

That part abruptly passed out and went quiet when Asami drew close wrapping her arms around Korra's neck. She pressed her chest into Korra's back which only served to further drive her imagination wild. She dared not turn around lest she lose all self-control.

"Hmmmmm?" said Asami's voice in her ear, "Could it be that you're… embarrassed?"

"I… I… brain… can't think," stammered Korra. The logical part of her mind had stumbled back into consciousness but it was not doing a very good job at being logical.

"You've never used a hot spring before have you?"

"N... N… No! I mean well not really. I've had baths before but those are always in tubs and stuff. I've never been in a place like… and not with…," she paused and then said quietly, "someone I love…"

"I love it when you get so flustered," said Asami. Her voice felt smooth as silk caressing her ears. "Just one of the many things I love about you."

She pulled away and Korra was relieved to feel her brain come back to function… if not a stunted still flustered function. She heard a faint rustling behind her and then Asami said, "You can turn around now. I promise I'm decent."

Korra turned slowly and caught sight of Asami in a large white towel. The fabric hugged her body accentuating her curves. It came up to just above her chest and ended just shy of half way down her thigh. In all actuality she was barely dressed but the slight covering allowed Korra to recover use of her tongue.

"Well… almost decent." Asami smiled and did a quick turn giving Korra a view from all angles.

"Wow… just wow…" said Korra, her eyes taking in every detail.

"Stop talking Korra and get changed," said Asami, "If you don't I'm going to have to strip you myself" She smiled mischeviously.

Korra felt a chill go down her spine. While Asami had said it to tease her there was something about her smile that gave Korra the impression that Asami was just looking for an excuse to do just that. She quickly stripped off her clothes facing away from Asami. She decided to forego folding her clothes neatly and threw them into a small pile next to her pack. She wrapped up with the other towel Asami had pulled out of her pack. Then she turned around still blushing. Never in her life had she changed her clothes to such an extent in front of anyone… and ESPECIALLY not the person she liked.

Asami was already sitting on the edge of the pool with her legs in the water. She waited patiently as Korra drew close and eventually, with some fidgeting, sat down next to her. Korra stuck her legs into the spring water feeling the heat melt away some of her tension and nervousness.

"You know…" started Asami, "If you're so tense all the time you're going to hurt yourself."

"I can't help it. Here I am sitting next to you and both of us are practically naked."

"We ARE naked. And it has to be this way for us to enjoy the water."

"I've never done this before," said Korra quietly.

Asami laughed, "Well I certainly hope not or jealous me will want to have words." After a small pause Asami took Korras hand in her own and said, "Here. We'll do it together." She pulled Korra off the stone she sat on and the two of them waded somewhat deeper into the water. The steaming water came up to their thighs now and Asami turned to face Korra. She was beautiful. Her hair was loose and cascaded down to her shoulders. Her skin was a perfect milky white and her eyes shone like emeralds. The water brushed the lower edge of her towel darkening it slightly.

"On three," she said, "One… two… three."

She sat down pulling Korra with her. The steaming water rushed up completely soaking their towels and bathing them in warmth. Water eventually rushed over their shoulders. Korra felt her concerns melt away as the water wicked the stress from her shoulders. A look of sheer bliss took over her face. Her eyes fluttered open and she saw that Asami had a very similar look of blissful relaxation. They pushed back and sat themselves against the flattened stones near the edge of the pool. They let the water envelop their bodies as they stretched out their legs. For a moment all was peaceful. Then Asami leaned over and kissed Korra as they sat in the water. Now the moment was perfect. Asami settled down and leaned her head onto Korra's shoulder smiling happily. Korra smiled too as she settled back into the water and rested.

The water seemingly pulled all the soreness, pain, and tension out of her body. It was almost a strange sensation to be so blissfully relaxed. Korra realized that she had more or less become accustomed to a certain level of discomfort. It had never bothered her but it was something curious. It wasn't long before she had relaxed completely. The two of them sat in silence watching the sky above them fade and the clouds part giving way to a dark sky filled with stars.

"Asami look." Korra pointed up at the sky. Stars filled the sky but there were dozens that streaked across the inky blackness.

Asami's eyes grew wide at the spectacle. Korra saw the reflections of tiny streaks of light in her eyes as meteors burned across the night sky.

"It's beautiful…"

They sat there watching the meteors cut colorful streaks out of the sky. The steam around them seemed to part as though the spring itself wanted to watch the lightshow. The air seemed to cool in the absence of the steam. Then, as quickly as it had started, the meteor shower ended. The stars ceased to tear their way across the sky. The steam of the spring returned, bringing with it the warmth that had left the air.

Korra stood up letting the air around cool her down just a little. The water had made her a little bit dizzy. It wasn't an altogether unpleasant feeling but she wanted to do something for Asami. She sat down behind Asami, her legs reaching into the water. She warmed her hands in the water, set them on Asami's perfect white shoulders, and began to knead the muscles there. Asami groaned in pleasure as Korra gently worked at the muscles.

"Mmmmmm that's good," said Asami with her eyes closed, "Where did you learn that?"

"Hm? Oh I learned a little from Katara." Korra smiled, "to be honest I just wanted to try it out see how you liked it."

"Mmmmmm… I like this," she said with a slight slur to her voice, "ah get that place… a bit… deeper."

Korra dug her fingers into her shoulders searching for a knot. The one she felt was small and after a moment of kneading it vanished. Asami visibly relaxed.

"Thanks… I've been trying to get that one out for weeks."

"Maybe I should try the full body massage," mused Korra.

"Mmmmm I would definitely like that."

Asami pulled Korra in for a kiss. "My turn."

Korra sat in the water as Asami crawled out a hand on her towel preventing it from falling. Asami gently caressed Korra's shoulders and started kneading in a way similar to how she had felt Korra do to her. For a moment Korra squirmed but then she relaxed letting Asami's fingers work.

"I think you're a natural," said Korra smiling up at Asami.

"It's nowhere near as good as you though," admitted Asami.

"Yeah but it took me weeks to figure out how to do it without making a person cringe or squirm. You managed it in about…Mmmmmm… five seconds?"

"Flatterer."

"Never."

Asami soon stopped and then slid back into the water sending gentle ripples racing across the glassy surface.

"So have you thought about where you want to go next?" she asked Korra.

"Nope," Korra's eyes were still closed and she rested her head against the smooth stone behind her, "I'm too busy enjoying this spring to think of anything else… well anything else apart from you."

"That… is so corny," laughed Asami causing Korra to blush furiously as she slid into the water and blew tiny bubbles out from under the surface. "But I can't say I don't love it."

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><p>They stayed in the spring for too long and the blood rushed to their heads making them lightheaded. Stumbling a little Korra and Asami extracted themselves from the spring to cool off. Once her head had stopped spinning Korra went over to the rock face where their packs were and moved them off to the side. She readied herself in a sturdy stance and prepared to move the stone before her. She thrust her hands forward and then traced a shape with both hands, a soft grinding sound drifted from the rock face as lines traced out a square about 3 feet by 3 feet. Korra pulled her arms back to her body feeling a slight tug of resistance before seeing the stone before her slide out of the rock face. She commanded the stone off to the side and then set it down. She had carved a rather large hole into the side of the mountain.<p>

"So you were thinking of spending the night here?"

"Well why not?" Korra said with a shrug. "It's pretty warm and I'm pretty sure a morning dip would feel wonderful."

"Not going to lie but that does sound wonderful."

Asami peered into the cave and saw that it was pretty spacious for being just a literal hole in the wall.

"You know," she started, already suspecting Korra's intent, "There's really only room in there for one, maybe two if we get really close..."

Korra smiled. "Oh I know. But what better way to find out more about each other than cuddling."

"Just cuddling?"

"Weeeelllll… I don't think I would object to a little more," Korra said with a grin.

"You're terrible at flirting you know that?" said Asami with a snicker.

"And I embrace it." Korra took Asami by her hand and pulled her back towards the hotspring. "Come on, I want to warm up a little more before we turn in for the night. My head's cooled off enough for now."

Korra leapt high into the air with a woop and plunged right into the deepest part of the spring. After a few seconds she burst out the surface exclaiming, "HOThothot! Okay, don't dive down the super deep bit."

Asami laughed as she walked back into the water letting the water swirl around her as she descended. The water embraced her like an old friend and relaxation washed over her again. Before she could fully submerge herself a blast of steamy water struck her in the face knocking her into the water.

"Pttthhhphbt! Korra!" she choked spitting water from her mouth.

"Sorry, sorry couldn't help myself," said Korra with a stupid grin.

Asami shot her a cold glare, "I'll get you for that." She bent down and flung as much water at Korra as she could. It felt like a pitiful amount compared to the deluge that Korra had thrown at her. The splash was easily split with a touch of bending. "HEY! No fair!"

"Alright alright, I'll do it manually."

Korra scooped some water and threw it at Asami. The pitiful splash didn't give her the awesome feeling of power that bending did but it did seem more fun. Asami ducked out of the way and kicked some water at Korra sending a small wave crashing into her.

"HA! Revenge!"

Their little water fight soon degenerated into splashes dips and dives as they chased each other around. Korra had to admit that it was some of the most fun she had ever had. She wondered to herself why she had never tried it before. She raced around splashing water when she saw that Asami had stopped and stared somewhat open mouthed.

"Korra…," she said quietly, "your towel…"

She looked down, her towel had slipped away in the chaos and now floated harmlessly a few feet away. With a squeak Korra shrank into the water and bubbled feeling an odd combination of horror and excitement. Asami just stared with eyes seemingly glazed over as they appeared to burn the image into her mind. Korra swam over to her towel and quickly wrapped it around her body again. She refused to come back out of the water in an irrational fear that the towel would slip again. Instead she crawled over to Asami and pulled her down to join her. Asami still had the stunned look. The water barely affected her.

"Tell me you didn't see anything," said Korra, her mouth barely peeking out of the water.

Asami jolted and looked at her, "Um… I didn't see anything?"

"Oh spirits you saw didn't you…" Korra flushed and sank into the water, her face red as a tomato.

Asami pulled her out and kissed her. "Nothing I hadn't imagined." Korra blushed even more furiously. Asami was certain that if she got any hotter she would accidentally boil the water away with accidental fire bending.

"Here let's make it even." Asami undid her towel and let it fall into the water.

Korra's eyes widened as she drank in the glorious view. It wasn't long before Asami pulled the towel back on, now she too was blushing furiously. She sank into the water till only her nose and eyes remained above the surface. Korra could see the blush even through the water.

"Even?" came Asami's voice from under the water, the sound distorted by the bubbling water in front of her face.

"Yeah… um… definitely."

They remained motionless for what felt like an eternity.

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><p><em>Oh man this is so embarrassing,<em> thought Korra as she laid out the sleeping mat again, _I've never felt so exposed… EVER! I mean like completely never ever ever. And then she… oh spirits she's beautiful… how she looked… can't forget…_ She closed her eyes and found herself unconsciously burning the image into her mind… _Yep that's going to stay with me forever. And I like it. _She smiled as she laid out the mat. Asami ducked under the lip of the little cave, she was dressed for the night again her ebony hair tied in a low ponytail and being dried by a smaller towel. _Does she ever not look perfect?_

She caught Asami's eye as she entered. Both of them blushed and looked away. _What do I say now? Do I say thanks? No that would be so weird. What do I DO? Damn I swear no one ever mentioned anything about this in training. Why isn't there a training for this stuff? Where the hell was the useful stuff? Note to self. Make sure the next Avatar knows about these sorts of things… well not specifically… oh hell, figure it out later._

Asami sat down next to her and they looked at each other silently. Then before long Asami spoke trying to break the silent tension, "Sooooo... do you… want to get another massage?"

Korra sighed, partially relieved. Part of her didn't want to talk about it. The other part wanted nothing more than to simply entangle their bodies together. _Shut it brain!_ More recently than not her brain had started drifting into what she could only assume were the dirtier thoughts and subjects of life.

She nodded mutely and lay down on the soft mat. She felt Asami kneel over her back and slowly start rubbing her back. It was gentle at first but eventually her hands started sliding up under Korra's shirt which caused her to reflexively tense.

"Relax… relax I'm not going to do anything yet. I just need to feel out the tension." Asami's voice drifted into her ear deep and sultry.

Asami slowly kneaded her back. It did feel incredibly good for someone who claimed to have only given a massage once. She almost didn't notice when Asami stripped her of her shirt leaving her back completely exposed. She wanted to turn around but didn't want to expose herself… well some part of her didn't care but the majority did and for now it was still in control. Korra tried to flatten herself into the soft mat beneath her as though attempting to meld with the stone underneath. She felt Asami's hands gently caress and smooth away the aches and pains that started to creep back.

"Hmmm…," she heard Asami as she was sure she stared at her bare exposed back, "You have a lot of scars…"

"Hm? Oh yeah." She had dozens of scars all over her body. Most of them were from the many times she had taken a bad fall or from getting slammed against stone or pavement or even the occasional burn from a lance of fire she couldn't quite redirect in time. "I do have a lot."

"I've never seen you bleed…" Asami's voice revealed her concern, "How come you never…"

"Never said anything?"

"Yeah… I could have helped… at least wrap you up or something."

"To be honest… I never thought about it. After a fight or a harsh day of training I would just go back to my room and bend a bit of water onto my back using it to help with the healing."

"Did they hurt?"

"At the time no, it was only after the adrenalin that the wounds would start to hurt. And even then…" Korra turned around to look at Asami taking care not to expose herself again, "Every time I took a shot to defend you… it never hurt, no matter how bad it was."

Asami hastily wiped a tear from her eye. The number of scars really did scare her. It never occurred to her that Korra had literally shed blood and tears for her. It was touching but it was also terrifying. She massaged absentmindedly as she stared at the dozens of scars. They were a light color contrasting against the coffee color of Korra's skin. Some were just tiny pricks and others were obviously gashes. Korra had been through a lot.

Korra turned her head again, "Hey, don't worry so much. I don't regret any of them." She looked at Asami with a single sapphire eye and smiled.

"But you're the Avatar… you're bound to get into more trouble and get hurt again."

"Well I can't promise to avoid injury. I can promise that I won't be nearly as reckless…" Korra whirled around not caring about being exposed any longer, "I have more to live for than ever before."

She leaned up and kissed Asami who closed her eyes. Korra closed hers as well and continued to kiss. The kiss was so much different than it had been ever before. It wasn't anything she could explain but the voice that her thoughts used buzzed happily, _Yesssss so much yes._

She barely heard Asami pull off her own shirt before the blanket was pulled over them both plunging them into complete darkness. They gave into their passions letting their senses go into overdrive. They touched as they never had before letting pleasure consume them. Electric jolts raced through their bodies making them shudder and arc in passion. Their breath quickly turned to pleasured gasps and moans. Each sensation came stronger with each passing until they could think no longer and simply let themselves be devoured in their union.

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><p>Hey readers, I felt it fitting to release this chapter on the eve of Valentines Day. Our two leading ladies finally consummate their affections for one another (FINALLY!). I wanted a wide variety of scenes including flustered, sweet, touching, and finally passionate (though not necessarily in that order). Thus ends the vacation arc of this fic. Next week (assuming my new job doesn't suck the life out of me) our ladies return to Republic City and to the start of a whole new leg of their journey together.<p>

As always I hope you enjoyed the chapter as much as I enjoyed writing it. Please review as each one helps me improve my writing and storytelling step by step.

Oh I am removing the Interlude chapter as it doesn't really fit into the story at this point in time. Thank you for those of you that gave me feedback on the experimental chapter.


	7. Chapter 6: The Return

As always I do not own any of the characters, I merely own my words and my humble interpretations and expansions. Read. Enjoy. Review (I welcome it.)

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><p><span><strong>Chapter 6<strong>: The Return

The day cast off the cloak of night as the sun awakened from its fitful slumber. The young light of the star cast the few clouds hanging in the sky a beautiful fuchsia color which stood in sharp contrast to the powder blue of the sky. As the sun rose its light slowly crawled across the mysterious land of the spirit world. The light eventually reached the bamboo forest reflecting brightly off the layer of snow that had landed on the tops of the gigantic plants. Eventually the light spilled into the clearing in which was the cave in which Korra and Asami still slept.

They slept tangled in each other's bodies savoring the warmth they shared. Their bed was a mess having suffered innumerable tosses and turns over the course of their passionate night. Rumpled piles of clothes lay to one side of the narrow cave while open packs rested near the mouth of the cave. Neither Korra nor Asami stirred in their sleep for their night was pleasurable but draining. If it were not for the intrusion of the day's light the two likely would have slept for hours longer. But as that was not the case Korra felt the warmth of the light and stirred first.

She didn't immediately open her eyes. Instead she curled closer to Asami relishing in the tingling sensation as her bare skin pressed against Asami's. She also tugged the blanket over her head in the vain attempt to block out the sunlight. Moving the blanket caused a rush of icy air to flow between the sheets sending chills down her spine and making her draw closer to Asami. There wasn't much she could do with a single arm as her other arm was trapped beneath Asami's head and beautiful tangle of ebony hair.

Korra noted that the trapped arm bore little to no feeling and responded sluggishly to her commands. The slight movements of her hand sent a familiar buzzing sensation up her arm. It wasn't particularly uncomfortable but it was definitely not an ideal sensation. Eventually her need for a second arm overcame her desire to allow Asami to sleep and she began to gently pull her arm free. Despite her best efforts not to do so, Asami woke up, and in doing so she pulled Korra's arm back and wrapped it around her body.

"Hey now…" started Korra as she thought of what reason she could give for gaining the freedom of her arm."

"Hm?" said Asami sounding still quite sleepy, "Nope, I'm not giving back your arm yet. I'm still cold."

Korra had to admit that she was comfortably warm apart from the quickly fading goose bumps that had appeared when she had tugged the blanket. Korra sighed in mock resignation and settled in for a little more warmth. She eventually found herself gently pecking Asami's milky white neck with small kisses and slowly moving up. With her free hand she tugged at Asami practically begging her to turn over, which she did. They pulled close and draped their arms over one another's backs and weaved their legs together. Heat flowed pleasantly between them as Asami continued to ignore the sunlight now shining down on her back. Korra was not quite as lucky as she faced the light. However Asami's beauty allowed her the fortitude to resist the uncomfortable brightness.

Korra found herself drinking in as much detail about Asami as she could see. Her long dark eyelashes fluttered slightly as Asami's eyes zipped around under their lids as though still in a dream. Her hair was a mess but still retained a semblance of elegance one could only gain through sleep. Her lips were red and looked as enticing as a crisp red apple on a hot day. Soon Korra couldn't resist Asami's lips anymore and she pulled close and locked her lips to Asami's in a deep and passionate kiss. As if on cue, Asami's eyes snapped open revealing her energetic emerald eyes with enlarged black pupils that made Korra feel as though she were staring in to an obsidian abyss.

"I was wondering if you would try that," said Asami with a grin, "I think I like this 'wake up kiss' thing. Do it again."

Korra kissed her again relishing in the feel of her soft lips and the subtle taste she had come to enjoy. The fact that she had to pull away not more than five seconds later made her heart ache with longing.

"Awww, why'd you stop?" whined Asami softly, "I was enjoying breakfast."

Korra tried to frown but found that she couldn't muster up the face without breaking into inelegant giggles. So instead she spoke with deliberation only belonging to those that wish not to laugh in a moment that is both serious and not.

"We should get up. If I stay here and have breakfast, as you so pleasantly describe it, I fear we might be stuck here for far longer than we intended."

"And that's a bad thing?" asked Asami playfully though she knew Korra was serious. "I just wanted a little more time just for the two of us before the vacation ends."

"Wha—who said the vacation was ending?"

"Well you just now but technically both of us," said Asami coyly, "We're eventually going to have to go back. Me to my company and you to your world saving business. We can't vacation forever… no matter how tempting that is."

Asami drew away from Korra and took a long hungry look at her prize. Korra felt herself flush red but couldn't help but do the same. To say they didn't enjoy each other's appearance would be like a man in a drought denying himself water because it was 'too wet'.

After a moment Asami snapped out of her fantasy saying, "Alright let's get moving. We might have a chance at getting back before the sun sets if we start now."

Korra nodded mutely as Asami pulled herself out from under the covers and crawled towards her clothes. As she moved Korra merely stared having not quite broken out of her fantasy world.

"Stare any longer and I'm going to have to start charging," said Asami playfully as she picked at her clothes displeased at its cold and nearly frozen nature. "Well stop staring and help me. I'm not going to pull on these frozen clothes on by myself."

Korra wrapped the blanket around her body and scrambled forward to help Asami into her chilled clothes. With each item she put on, Asami shivered slightly as the heat from her body fled into the cold clothes. When Asami was finished she grabbed Korra's clothes and tossed them at her before helping her don her outfit much like how Korra had helped her. The experience was no less enjoyable for Korra who, despite having endured brutal winters and frigid blizzards, shivered as she slipped into her clothes. By the time they were both clothed they were shivering so badly that at a distance it would have looked as if the two had been dunked in a vat of ice water.

Asami leaned onto Korras back and wrapped her arms around her body pulling close. Korra flung the now cooler blanket around the two of them and decidedly used a little firebending to warm up her body transferring the warmth to Asami and letting the temperature of the blanket return to the toasty warmth it had possessed when they had awoken.

"Mmmmmm much better," sighed Asami.

Korra swore she could see the smile of satisfaction on Asami's face. "If I didn't know you were so in love with me I would think you're just using me as a glorified space heater."

"And if I am doing that anyways?"

"I don't think I would complain. Though if you do what we did last night to a space heater I'm going to be promptly jealous."

"I would never!" scoffed Asami mocking offense, "Well… unless you leave me alone for too long."

The two of them laughed as they knelt under the blanket staring out at the steaming hot spring.

After a moment's pause Asami asked, "So will we ever come back here?"

Korra thought a moment and smiled. "How about we make this a tradition. We'll come out here every now and then when things are tense and unwind."

"What about the others?"

"What about them?"

"Will we ever share this place with the others?"

"Not this one. This one is ours and ours alone. We'll find another to share with everyone else."

"Good. I like exclusivity."

"So do I."

* * *

><p>They quickly packed up their scattered belongings and prepared for the return journey. Their trip out of the bamboo forest felt much shorter than their hike inwards. They stepped out of the shaded path to find the dragon bird spirit waiting patiently. Her fledglings were racing about near the snowy ground kicking up small tufts of snow as they raced around each other. When the fledglings saw Korra and Asami they chirped happily and skittered over quickly climbing up onto their preferred shoulders and fondly cooing at the two women.<p>

The mother bent low and accepted Korra and Asami onto her back and after a few sharp clicks that resulted in the fledglings returning to the thick and safe feathers of their mother she took off into the sky leaving behind a whirlwind of snowflakes. As they soared away from the forest and hot spring the sunlight seemed to warm the air until it reached a comfortable and yet breezy temperature. Korra and Asami fell asleep on one another as the mother spirit soared across the clear sky. The golden spirit did not mind and took care not to turn too sharply as it rode the air currents as easily as a dragonflying fish navigates the seas.

By the time they landed in the meadow the sun was just setting over the horizon and revealing a star filled night sky. Korra and Asami slid off the spirit and thanked the spirit for her assistance. The dragon bird spirit nudged Asami as if to remind her of the whistle she had been given and to coax one more hug out of the dark haired woman. When that was complete the spirit took off into the sky and quickly faded from view.

Korra watched as Asami stared off in the direction the large spirit had taken off. "So," she hesitated briefly before continuing, "Ready to get back to the real world?"

"Yeah."

"It's going to be different."

"We're gonna get bombarded by our friends and family."

"And the press."

"The world."

"Everything…"

Asami looked at Korra who grinned nervously. "Still sure you don't want to stay for a little longer?"

"If I said no that would be a lie," said Korra with a shake of her head, "But you're right, we can't vacation forever. Then it wouldn't be a vacation."

"You're right. This wouldn't be as special if we did this forever," sighed Asami, "I guess we'll have to come back again and again. I'm not giving up on exploring this place."

"I agree with you on that." Korra smiled and held out her hand as she asked, "Together then?"

"Of course." Asami took her outstretched hand.

The two of them walked towards the golden column of light. It was as warm as they remembered it, like the embrace of an old friend. Together they stepped into the light and felt it grow stronger more than they saw it. All they saw was each other just like the day they had started their trip. They had come full circle and now they could begin their lives in the chaotic world of man. They smiled happily as the light engulfed them knowing that when it faded they would be back in Republic City. But before the light overwhelmed their senses Korra had to ask one last thing.

"Have you wondered what the others have been up to this entire time?"

* * *

><p>"Whew!"<p>

Bolin puffed out an exhausted gasp of air as he relaxed his stance. The stone that he had held in his control dropped to the dusty floor with a resounding crash. He had pulled the building sized piece of rubble from a large pile over to a pile of similarly sized masonry that were commissioned for recycling. Bolin placed his hands on his knees breathing ragged breaths. When he had volunteered for the cleanup effort he hadn't expected to be pulling large chunks of buildings hundreds of feet. The last time he did something so strenuous it had been on accident when Kuvira had collapsed a building on them.

As he breathed he thought, _At least this is keeping me busy. Nothing worse than being bored to death. At least I get to work up a sweat._ A deep whistle blast sounded indicating a long meal break.

He raised an arm and wiped away the sweat from his forehead. Suddenly he felt a gust of wind near him. He looked up and Opal had dropped down next to him. Slung across her body was a satchel from which he could see an innocent towel sticking out of one of the corners. She fastened the gliding 'wings' to the front of her suit and smiled warmly.

"Here!" she pulled off the satchel and pushed it into Bolin's arms, "I thought you'd be hungry so I made lunch." She watched excitedly as Bolin extracted the towel and wiped the sweat off of his face.

"Thanks Opal, for lunch and the towel."

"Towel?"

Bolin froze, he let the fabric in his hands unfold a in the gentle breeze. It had not been a towel. Instead it was something of a picnic blanket. He felt the sweat return with a vengeance. He wasn't sure what to say and his brain wasn't working particularly well at the moment. The combination resulted in an incomprehensible gurgle that sounded like an animal attempting to drown with what dignity it had left.

Instead of fury as he had expected, Opal's face cracked into a wide grin and then she broke into laughter. Her laughs resounded through the area like fine bells.

"Wait…" he said after he had wrangled control of his tongue and words, "You're not mad?"

"Why would I be?"

"Cause I just used a picnic blanket as a towel?"

"That's not a picnic blanket."

"Okay…," said Bolin slowly, "then what is it?"

"It's your sweat rag."

"This hardly seems like a rag."

"I know." Opal said with a grin. She spun on her heel and started walking away. "Well come on if you want to have lunch. You don't want to ruin my figure do you?"

Bolin ran after her like a puppy. He was happy. Since all the drama with her kidnapped family, an imminent war, and the chaos afterwards, Opal had broken out of the shy personality shell she once had. She had become far more animated and expressive. Sure there were times that she still had the subtle expressions of her past but she had recently embraced more of her nature as an airbender. As Bolin followed he noticed a slight hop to her step. She was definitely in a good mood.

They settled down away from the dust and wreckage and Opal laid out a far more colorful picnic blanket using a small gust of wind to ensure the blanket laid flat. From the satchel she pulled out a number of sandwiches. Bolin felt his mouth reflexively start to water. When they had started dating he had experienced her forays into cooking. She was a natural, which made up for his severe lack of cooking prowess.

Bolin happily scarfed down twice the number of sandwiches than Opal did. He enjoyed each flavor immensely and attempted to convey this gratitude for the meal through a full mouth.

"Hangs fur deh meer." Bolin said through a mouthful of delicious sandwich.

Opal choked on the cup of tea she had poured herself from a large thermos. "What?"

Bolin held up a finger asking for a second. With great, or grotesque if you ask Opal, effort Bolin swallowed everything that was in his mouth. Finding it clear of sound muffling sandwich but now empty of delicious food Bolin said, "Thanks for the meal."

"You're welcome," replied Opal, "But honestly you should slow down when you're eating. You might choke."

"NUPTUCK NEVER CHOKES!" cried Bolin in his ever dramatic actor voice.

"Nuptuck also doesn't have a girlfriend," said Opal wryly.

"Good point," said Bolin. "So what have you been up to?"

"Well apart from making lunch today I've been helping out Tenzin take care of Rohan." A flash of exhaustion raced across her face. "He has got to be the most energetic kid ever."

"How do you like it?"

"Well it definitely keeps me on my toes… and flexible." Opal shook her head, "I've had to airbend the kid away from several dangerous encounters with tables, chairs, and sinks. I leave him alone for a second and he finds some way to hurt himself. I'm glad that Pema understands just how crazy he is."

"Nothing like Tenzin?"

"Total opposites… in fact he's almost Milo level energetic."

"Yeesh, that's scary."

"I know right?"

The deep whistle blasted again indicating the lunch break was over. Bolin stood up and pulled Opal to her feet.

"I gotta get back to work, thanks for lunch. Do you want any help cleaning up?"

Opal gave him a quick kiss, "Nope. You go and play with your rocks I'll take care of this."

"Thanks, I'll make it up to you," said Bolin as he jogged away. When he was a few meters away he paused, turned around and yelled, "DINNER?"

"Sure!"

"Where at?"

"Figure it out later!"

"Alright."

Bolin ran back to the work site and joined the rest of the workers all burly sweaty men that grinned and slapped him on the back in approval of Opal. He flushed slightly but decided that he would just accept their gruff compliments. He tucked the thought of dinner in the corner of his mind and returned to work. The stones he now lifted were no smaller than they had been before but they felt lighter for some strange reason.

* * *

><p>Bolin and Opal walked out of a seaweed noodle joint. Both of them had on wide smiles as the food was good and the company was even better. The strolled down the street towards the harbor bathed in the pinks and blues of a setting sun. Off to the side they could see the rising column of light that was the Spirit Portal. It still felt somewhat surreal to have a spirit portal in the middle of the city but the two of them, along with much of the rest of the populace of Republic City, were slowly getting used to it.<p>

"Hey Bolin, does the portal look like its pulsing?"

Bolin looked at the portal, it was definitely pulsing but not in any way that seemed threatening. The light was kind of just getting brighter and going back to normal, almost like the portal itself was breathing.

"Want to go check it out?"

* * *

><p>Mako fumed rather uselessly. He didn't particularly enjoy his current state of being. It wasn't that he was tired or bored of guarding Prince Wu as he went from meeting to meeting to discuss his plans for the restoration of the Earth Kingdom into the Earth Republic. No by far that was the least of his troubles. The thing that bothered him the most was the infuriatingly itchy cast that was on his arm.<p>

He understood the necessity of the cast and even agreed that if he didn't have it protected he would have likely hurt himself even more or perhaps even permanently. It had almost been a month since he had forced the mech's spirit vine reactor to go critical. At the time he had blasted the vines with so much lightning that some of the feedback had shot back up his arm leaving him with some severe burns and breaking the larger bones in his forearm.

So there he stood, waiting patiently at the door guarding it to make sure no over-zealous freedom fighter decided to make a play against Prince Wu. In a few days the prince was going to step down and dissolve the monarchy handing the entirety of the kingdom back to his people and letting them rule themselves as he believed was best. With all of the extreme changes the country had gone through it seemed like a good compromise between the stranglehold of the monarchy and the chaos of anarchy.

By the time the conference was over the sun had mostly set bathing the city in shadows but leaving the sky fiery in the fading light. Mako and Wu walked in silence as they headed back towards the hotel in which Wu had been lucky to find a room. It was one of the few hotels that had managed to survive the destruction wrought by Kuvira and her mech. Initially Mako had been concerned that the prince would have complained about the hotel but he was surprised when the prince simply accepted the hospitality of the hotel owner and quickly made himself comfortable in a room that was a fraction of the size that Wu's former room had been.

Mako smiled at just how much Wu had changed over the course of the last few weeks. The young man had gone from a sniveling useless failure of a playboy prince to a level headed, if not somewhat mischevious, man who had a decent amount of wit and wisdom. He left Wu at the steps of the hotel declining an invitation to go in but before he could part way with the prince he saw Wu pointing towards the sky.

Mako followed the direction the prince's finger was pointing and caught sight of the golden column of light from the Spirit Portal. It was pulsing ever so slightly. Not threatening at all but it was definitely something curious. He turned around and saw that Wu had already vanished. A brief moment of panic crossed his mind as he looked for the prince catching sight of him running, though not very quick, down the street in the general direction of the portal. Mako sighed and followed him quickly catching up despite the dull throbbing and uncomfortable itch that kept distracting him.

* * *

><p>Korra and Asami stepped out of the column of light to a sight they did not expect. Bolin, Opal, Mako, and Wu all stood at the bottom of the vine hill as if they had been expecting them to return. Opal hung onto Bolin's arm with a wide all-knowing grin. Bolin waved frantically as two of his closest friends walked down the hill. Mako had his attention split two ways. With part of his mind he was trying to get Wu to breathe deeper as the young man had literally sprinted to the portal out of excitement and winded himself. The other part was genuinely happy to see both women.<p>

"KORRA! ASAMI! YOU'RE BACK!" Bolin's voice rang out excitedly. He ran up and nearly tackled both of them in a large bearhug.

"Oof!" said both Korra and Asami as the air was squeezed out of their lungs. They shared a look as they realized they were thankful that only Bolin was prone to giving rib cracking hugs.

"Where did you guys go? Well, the spirit world duh. But where in the spirit world. See any cool things? Go anywhere interesting? C'mon you gotta tell me."

Bolin was as giddy as a schoolgirl upon receiving her school uniform which was amusing for both Korra and Asami as Bolin danced around them bombarding them with questions but failing to give them any chance to answer. Before long Opal stepped in and clamped a hand over Bolin's mouth silencing him.

"Good to see you Opal," Korra said with a smile to her first pupil, "Did we miss anything we shouldn't have?"

"Oh nothing much. It's mostly been cleanup since you guys left," she said with a shrug, "Though I think I speak for the entire city when I say that any help is good help."

"Well good cause I intend to help out as much as I can as soon as I can." replied Korra.

"Me too," chimed in Asami, "I'm thinking that we can turn more of Future Industries resources to cleaning up the city."

"Oh good, maybe I can stop dragging buildings around," said Bolin with semi-sincere exasperation.

"And you've been doing that why?"

"Cause I got bored… literally." Bolin's eyes twinkled as he looked at Korra, "You know better than anyone just how similar and easily bored the two of us are."

"Fair point, I probably would go stir crazy if I had to just stay in a room all day and wait."

The six of them stood in momentary silence before Korra had to ask. "So what now?"

"Well…" started Bolin, "We weren't exactly planning anything, we all kind of just showed up out of curiosity."

"Curious about what?"

"Well the portal really. It was pulsing like it was breathing for a while before you stepped out."

"Really?"

"Yep."

"Any ideas?"

"Not one. I don't do spirit world stuff too well."

"Heh, if you're any better than I was four years ago I think you have an advantage."

Korra and Bolin laughed leaving Opal looking confused and Asami shaking her head but grinning. Mako remained silent and Wu continued to wheeze. Without much more to talk about the six of them soon began to part ways. With all that had happened to the city many of them were now living on Air Temple Island until further notice. Bolin and Opal walked arms linked towards the harbor where the ferry was waiting. Asami looked briefly at Korra who glanced at her and pointed briefly at Mako who was still watching Wu. Asami nodded and wandered off to join Bolin and Opal. Korra stepped up to Mako.

He looked up and said, "Glad you're back Korra."

"From your silence I thought you were pissed or something."

"Nah not really. It's this cast that's got me in an off mood. You wouldn't believe just how irritating it is to have a scratch you can't get at."

"That bad huh?"

"Yeah kind of. Not that many healers in the area," then Mako said, "well there was one but she went on vacation."

"Sorry about that."

"Don't be," said Mako immediately, "It's not like you have any responsibility for me."

"Yeah but I don't like the thought that I might have abandoned both the city and my friends. The second one bugs me more."

"I said, don't worry about it." He glanced over at Wu who seemed to have mostly recovered. "We'll have to talk later. I have to take this one back to his room before he passes out. We'll meet up tomorrow or something okay?"

"Errr… sure I guess…" said Korra without any particular idea of another option. "See you tomorrow then."

Mako walked Wu away slowly. Korra turned around and used an air scooter to quickly catch up with Asami who had fallen slightly behind Bolin and Opal who were busy making faces at each other and having a ball of it.

"So what did he say?" asked Asami.

"Not much only that he wanted to talk."

"Anything in particular?"

"Dunno. But now that I think about it… maybe we should tell him about… you know… us."

You think he'll take it well?"

"I have no idea. I mean how _ARE_ you supposed to take the news that your two exes are now dating each other."

"Fair point. Want me to come?"

"Not at first, I think a slow release might keep him from having a heart attack."

"Let me know." Asami checked that Bolin and Opal were properly occupied before pecking Korra on the check. "Now let's get over to Air Temple Island. I'm sure there's a lot to talk about."

* * *

><p>By the time they had arrived on Air Temple Island the night was upon them. The ferry had been somewhat slow crossing the water and the sun had fully set and the stars were coming out. The four of them set foot on the island and Bolin and Opal quickly parted from them. Opal returned to the Airbender dormitory she shared with some of the other women. Bolin went to the room that Tenzin had provided for him. Korra and Asami had no idea what they were supposed to do so they decided to go find Tenzin.<p>

The bearded Airbending master sat cross legged by the seaside pagoda meditating. His sharp senses and ears picked up the familiar sound of Korra approaching. He got up and turned around.

"Welcome back Korra. How was the vacation?" His voice was deep and smooth bearing little indication of what he might have been feeling.

"Hey Tenzin. Err… I'm back… I guess?"

"That you are indeed."

"I thought you'd be mad or something."

"Well I'll admit I was a bit mad at first when I thought you had run off again." Tenzin shook his head and shivered slightly. "I still remember talking to your father about you being missing before we found you in the swamp."

"Ah…, well does he know?"

"Your father? Well he suspected as all fathers do, but he didn't pry. Thankfully." Tenzin pretended to wipe his forehead of sweat. "So what brings you back from your vacation? Don't tell me that it got too boring or that you pissed off the spirits or something."

"No nothing like that… okay we might have irritated a giant owl but that was about it," admitted Korra.

"We're back to help out with the cleanup," chimed in Asami.

"Ah, Asami, I was waiting for you to speak up a bit," said Tenzin with a warm smile. "Well the city needs every last pair of hands it can get. But for now you two need sleep. You look a little exhausted."

"We are. It's been quite… an adventure." Asami smiled at Korra who blushed slightly.

If Tenzin picked up on it he didn't show it. "Good to hear. Sadly I have to tell you that I was only able to keep Korra's room. The one that you used a few years ago Asami had to be turned into a storage room. Will you be okay sharing a small room with Korra for the time being?"

"Of course, that won't be a problem."

"Good, now if you'll excuse me I need to go make sure Rohan hasn't torn a hole in any walls or something." Tenzin hurried off in the fashion that had become so synonymous with his name.

Asami looked at Korra, "You think he knows?"

"Didn't seem like it."

"Do you want to tell him?"

"Eventually, just not now."

"Alright."

The two of them walked over to Korra's relatively solitary room on the island. Inside was sparsely furnished with a single bed on the floor. The two women put their packs down and extracted the vacation mat from their bags. They lay the mat right next to the fluffier bed. Korra insisted that she take the vacation mat while Asami would sleep in the primary bed. After some quiet bickering over who should sleep where they ultimately both ended up inside the primary bed. Sleep quickly washed over them lulling them into comforting darkness and warmth. Before Korra fell asleep she felt Asami scoot closer and wrap her arm around her waist and also rest an arm under her neck. Korra welcomed the now familiar warmth and so the two of them slept.

The new day would be the first of a new life. One that they could enjoy together.

* * *

><p>Hey readers, hope you enjoyed the chapter as much as i enjoyed writing it. As always please leave a review if you feel there was anything that should have been improved as I welcome the advice.<p>

So one thing I tend to do while writing is just sit down and write an entire chapter. I don't particularly edit anything (though i should for quality) so what you are reading is more or less direct and unfiltered from my brain (with rating limitations of course). At this point I haven't quite figured out what I'm going to write in the next chapter. I guess i'll just have to leave that a mystery for you guys to find out. LOOK FORWARD TO IT!

Oh and I started a new job recently so I'm now quite busy so I don't know if I will be able to maintain my weekly releases. I may slow down the releases in order to cram in more quality or words. I'm currently working on two side projects that may or may not make their way into this fanfiction. They will be heavily romantic for our two lovely ladies. Whether they are one shots or eventually tie into this story still remains to be seen. The stories are set a few years in the future.

I hope you guys keep coming back and reading more of my stories. Seeing the number of followers/reviews/etc. increase is something of a massive confidence booster. Peace out readers and I hope you enjoyed this chapter.


	8. Chapter 7: A Knife in the Dark

Hey readers, this is the 7th chapter to my fan fiction (after committing the writer sin of doing a prologue). Please be aware that I do not claim ownership for any of the characters in the following chapter except for Zhan and Kojiro. Those two are mine (had to use a name gen though). Read and enjoy. Review if you feel so inclined. I would greatly appreciate it. Especially for this chapter.

* * *

><p><span><strong>Chapter 7:<strong> The Knife in the Dark

Dear Mom and Dad,

It's been a while since I've written to you. Admittedly I feel a little guilty that I vanished again without telling you two. I hope you weren't too worried. A wonderful thing has happened and I want to tell you all about it. I'll be traveling to the South Pole as soon as I can. Say hi to the tribe for me.

Korra

P.S. I think Desna is sending small creepy trinkets to Bolin. Can Dad check that out and tell her to stop? Bolin refuses to answer the door now.

Korra stretched back in her chair opening and closing her hand to dispel the cramp that had set in after a little more than an hour of writing. Scattered beside her on the floor lay the crumpled remains of a dozen or more half-finished letters. She had gotten around to writing the letters because Asami had left early to travel to the temporary headquarters of Future Industries to assure both her board and a few concerned investors that yes she was indeed alive and had no plans on handing ownership of the company over to another.

Korra stared at the letter. It seemed like trifling thing just sitting at the desk limply. She had put a lot of thought into the letter but just couldn't quite write down the words "I'm in love with Asami" or "I'm dating Asami". Saying it was easy, especially when she said it to Asami. She found that saying it to others, though not for lack of trying, was significantly more difficult. And then she had found that it was damn near impossible to put the words in a letter to her parents. It was strange to be plagued by apprehension and fear again. Granted it wasn't much of either but Korra was nervous at how the people she loved would respond to the news.

She looked out her window and saw the radiant orange glow of a setting sun. Apparently she had spent much more time in her room than she had intended, only leaving for small meals. At one point she had tried talking to Tenzin about the situation but found that she couldn't brooch the subject and certainly not while he was meditating, or at least trying as the young Rohan raced energetically around occasionally tugging at his father's robes in the vain attempt to get his attention.

Korra stood up feeling the ache in her ignored legs. She did a few stretches to work out the kinks and found that she immediately missed the hot spring and its relaxing properties. She had to make due with what she had however. She gathered up the crumpled pieces of paper as quick as she could before grabbing some long neglected clothes. She needed a bath, a nice long, hot, steamy bath.

* * *

><p><em>That greedy, conniving, arrogant, son of a!<em>

Asami sat at the head of the board of directors. Her eyes were closed and her face was cool and impassive. Her thoughts however sat somewhere between colorfully distasteful and outright insulting. Directly across from her was a man that she rarely ever saw but somehow was more of a pain in her side than any of the villains they had faced over the last four years.

The man, whose name was Zhan Fang, wore an expensive suit and wore his hair slicked with grease. Upon his face was a condescending smile so arrogant that it would have made the late councilman Tarlok seem like an angel. In her fury she could barely hear the words coming out of the man's mouth. Every word dripped with disgust and poorly veiled insults as though the very fact of her position as CEO insulted his very being.

"As you can see Ms. Sato… blah blah blah… barely turned a profit… blah blah blah… blatent misuse of company resources… blah blah blah…"

_He must really, REALLY love his own voice…_

"Her association with the ever destructive Avatar… blah blah blah… poor business strategies… blah blah… frequent departures and unannounced leaves… blah… as such I find that the only… blah blah blah…"

_Is he still going? Spirits preserve me… how long have we been here…_

"Cut our losses… blah blah… we are in desperate need for some new leadership… blah blah blah… unfit… blah blah… I hereby motion for a vote of no confidence."

_I wonder what comes after… wait WHAT?_

For a split second her cool façade cracked exposing her concern. Luckily most of the directors had been too focused on the seemingly endless speech that they were not looking at her. Unfortunately, however, the man she least wanted to see the crack did. The scumbag smiled widely as if a deranged executioner looking at the exposed neck for him to sever.

"Do I have a second?"

"Seconded."

"Then it is settled, all hands for a change in leadership in Future Industries."

The board shifted uncomfortably in their seats. A little less than half was indebted to Asami and her late father and wouldn't dare vote against her. That number was matched by the opposing side in which the mouthy director had intimidated, bribed, or just simply threatened for their cooperation. A cool three individuals had, for the longest time, refused to take sides thinking only for the good of the company.

That could be a good or terrible thing for Asami as far as she could see. Yes her behavior, especially in the last month, was far from exemplary. Her decisions had also placed considerable strain in the minor surplus she had scrapped together in the three years after the near collapse of the company at the hands of Varrick. It was entirely likely for her to lose control of her own company. If the two of the three voted against her she would be removed as CEO of Future Industries.

"All for removing Miss Sato as CEO?"

A rustle as those under the traitorous director raised their hands. Asami felt a chill run down her spine as she saw one of the neutral directors raise her hand. The other two neutrals were deep in thought. Once or twice she swore that one of the other two motioned to raise their hand. After a tense moment majority was not had. Asami felt the pressure on her chest lessen. As though sheets of rock were being removed one by one.

"All for Miss Sato to remain as CEO?"

An equal number of hands came up leaving a single neutral director scowling in contemplation. The vote was tied and this last director was the tiebreaker. The director cleared his throat. He ran a hand through his silvering hair and leaned forward. He removed his glasses, setting them on the table before him, and sighed.

"Well Director Kojiro? Your vote."

The old man ignored Fang and looked first into Asami's eyes and then into Fang's eyes. Asami found herself trembling in fear. She knew what would happen. She didn't want to accept it but the sinking feeling in her gut told her that her time as CEO was over.

"I recuse myself from this vote."

A murmur echoed in the room.

"I'm sorry?" said Zhan, "You recuse yourself?"

"Yes."

"You can't do that!"

"Actually I can," the man continued in a voice almost whisper quiet, "You forget Zhan. You forget that you and all your cohorts do not own a majority of the shares."

"Thank you Director Kojiro,"said Asami.

"I'm not finished…," the director threw a sharp glare at Asami. "Miss Sato, I also remind you that you too do not own a majority in this company. As such the decision on the control of the company seems to fall to me. And I thusly recuse myself."

"Why?" growled Zhan, "What good can THIS GIRL do the company? Under her 'leadership' Future Industries has almost gone under two times!"

"And each time she has brought us back from the brink."

"Bringing us back is not the point! The point is that she is directly responsible for the misfortunes of this company. Hastily made agreements and unannounced absences aside, she is barely old enough to understand the finer details of business."

"SILENCE!"

Zhan stopped speaking and bleached white. Director Kojiro got to his feet his eyes staring daggers at Zhan. The sheer intensity of the look seemed to force Zhan into his chair.

"You haven't the RIGHT to talk to her like that!" now Kojiro was growling. It was subtle but it was the growl of a dangerous beast giving a final warning before striking. "Learn to mind your tongue whelp. Don't make me regret bringing you into this company."

Kojiro looked at Asami, "Given what has been said, regardless of their intent, the facts are the facts Asami." He looked more tired than just a minute ago when his eyes blazed with fury. "I loathe to do this, I really do, but I have to think about the good of the company." The director sat down in his chair again. "Whichever way I vote will determine the fate of the company."

He stopped talking. The silence grew so loud that it was painful. The sinking feeling came back in full force threatening to knock Asami to her feet. The silence was broken by a single wavering breath and the response that Asami had been dreading.

"I vote… to remove Miss Sato as CEO."

Her world shattered around her. Her father's company, HER company, which had been in her hands for the last four years, was violently wrenched out of her hands by so few words as that. Asami fought back the tears she knew were threatening to pour out. They would do her no good here. In fact her tears would only solidify the impression that she was a poor leader. She steeled herself and stood as calmly as she could manage. Part of her wanted to leap across the table with her shock glove and violently strangle Zhan while frying his brain. The other part was in shock and barely in control. She turned and left the room.

When the doors behind her closed with a sickening finality she felt her heart tremble and her shoulders sag under more weight than she had ever felt. She sat in the stiff chair next to the doors to the chamber and waited, numbed to the core.

She had no idea how she had gotten back to Air Temple Island only that she did. Everything passed in a blur. Voices were so muddied that none of them made any sense. Acolytes rushed by in oily smears of color. In the distance the class of new airbenders that had joined recently seemingly stood still as a painting. The wind was biting and cold but felt as though each breeze burned her flesh. She stumbled up flights of stairs and down hallways. She turned into the Korra's room.

"'Sami! You're back—"

Asami collapsed vaguely aware that Korra had caught her. Her frail sense of control shattered and she lost it. She cried and wailed into Korra's shoulder. She furiously pounded her fists on Korra's back. This was no tantrum, this was merely the pain overflowing and taking over. When her arms were tired she stopped hitting Korra's back and just let her arms fall uselessly to her side. She felt Korra pick her up and lay her on the bed. She couldn't make out anything Korra said but felt a warm blanket pulled over her. She felt Korra squeeze her hand and say more muffled words. She couldn't respond, try as she may. The fact that Korra had not panicked and run off was a tremendous comfort but it was barely enough to dull the pain she felt stabbing at her very being. Eventually her exhaustion swept her away into sleep. But the nightmares were back and they didn't seem to want to leave.

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><p>Korra felt every strike that Asami had landed on her back. She knew that they were going to bruise but found herself not caring about that in the slightest. She had just gotten out of the bath and had finished changing when Asami stumbled into the room collapsed and started crying. It was only the years of combat training that allowed her the reaction time to catch Asami before she hit the floor. She felt more than heard the screams and crying that ensued. Not wanting to alarm the others in the temple she flicked her hand and shut the sliding door to her room with a gust of wind.<p>

Then she knelt there holding Asami as close as she could while enduring every last abuse Asami could throw at her. Korra found herself vaguely curious at just how strong Asami was. Her strikes were solid and sent resounding thumps through her body. Eventually Asami grew exhausted and her arms fell limp. It was then that Korra was able to pick her up and lay her on the bed. She pulled the blanket over Asami and held her hand.

"I'm not going anywhere Asami. I swear."

She didn't seem to respond which was bad. Korra grew frightened, she had never seen Asami in such a state. She was always so in control and confident that the broken girl before her was but a shadow of the woman she really was. What frightened Korra the most was that it brought back terrible memories of her own suffering. She feared that Asami would fall into the same depressive state she herself had succumbed to. She didn't want Asami to suffer for three years. She loved her and seeing her in so much pain threatened to break her.

Asami fell into a fitful sleep, tears pouring from her eyes. Korra felt her own tears welling up but shook her head to clear it. She briefly looked over towards the letter on the desk. Then she looked back at Asami who sniffed quietly in her sleep.

_The letter can wait. This is more important. This is FAR more important._

She steeled herself and pulled a soft cloth from her pocket. With it she dabbed up Asami's tears. She knew that both of them were in for a rough night but that despite her conscious plan to not sleep until Asami woke up, she knew Asami was going through worse. Korra sat motionless holding Asami's hand not daring to let go for fear that she would disappear into the well of despair.

As the night went on several acolytes attempted to attend to her needs. Her refusal initially scared them away. Eventually she heard Tenzin and Jinora muttering on the other side. The two masters slid the door open their eyes thick with concern. They saw Asami and immediately backed out. Tenzin's face paled as he sputtered at his words. He failed to find even the slightest word of comfort. Shortly afterwards he left deep in thought. Jinora asked if there was anything she could bring. Korra asked for a large quantity of water, a boiling stand, a teapot, a box of tea leaves, and a number of soft towels. Jinora bowed out and quickly returned with the requested items. Korra thanked the young girl as she left the room.

With a hand Korra drew some water out and directed it into the teapot. She shot a burst of flame onto the boiling stand and watched as the flames heated the water. She dropped a few tea leaves into the near boiling water and watched as the color leeched into the water. She poured two cups of tea setting them on the bedside table. She would wait.

It was going to be a rough night.

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><p>This chapter... This chapter... I'm sorry. While I was writing the parts for Zhan and Asami in this chapter I found myself hating Zhan more and more. Not in the sense where i don't want to write him anymore (well kind of) but more that I think that for me Zhan embodies everything that I think belong to a disgusting person. Somehow I managed to create an OC that I hate... that's a first.<p>

Sorry about that. This was a really hard chapter for me to write mostly because I had no idea what I was going to write about, I just sort of wrote. Eventually I came across the idea of doing a Varrick-inspired company control storyline but make it much more evil and sinister. It really hurts me to write such suffering into Asami's story. It hurt me so much that I think a little part of me died. But enough about my sob story.

I sincerely hope you enjoyed the chapter despite the inherent pain within. I did my best to plant the image of the slimy despicable Zhan into your brains and for that I apologize. I swear the pain will go away, maybe not immediately but soon. I wanted a moment of true vulnerability for Asami, something she doesn't really show that much in the show (or my previous chapters). This may garner some hate from my readers but I'll take it all. If you hate this, tell me, I will do my best to earn back the love and loyalty you have shown me thus far. As always reviews are greatly appreciated.

Sniff... sorry Asami...


	9. Chapter 8: The Comfort of a True Love

I do not own any of the characters in the following chapter apart from Zhan Fang (still hate him) and Kojiro. All credit for Asami, Korra, and supporting characters go to Bryke. Read and enjoy, leave a review if you feel like it.

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><p><span><strong>Chapter 8:<strong> The Comfort of a True Love

Asami almost immediately regretted waking up. Her mouth was dry and tasted like sandpaper. Her head pounded as though gongs were being played next to her ears. Her face felt stiff and there were trails of salt running from her eyes. The room was flooded with light. Or at least that was how it seemed to Asami's eyes. More than anything her stomach growled at being deprived of food and yet there was a sickening pit that she was now all too familiar with. Movement was difficult as her limbs felt as though they were made of lead. She felt a comforting weight on her abdomen and when she looked down she saw Korra asleep half falling off the chair she was sitting on.

Her hair was a spiky, tangled mess and her clothes were rumpled and looked like they hadn't been washed in some time. The weight of Korra on Asami made the dreadful feeling in her gut and her mind fade slightly, but it was nowhere near enough to make her forget what had happened.

She thought about the meeting and how she had been so powerless to stop what had happened. She thought of each of the directors and found that most of them were just meaningless faces in the mire of her memories. The face that truly stood out was that of Zhan Fang. As much as the verdict of the directors was she could somehow still remember the smug smile on Zhan's face. The though made her vision go red with rage. Then she thought of the older Kojiro. She should be furious with the old man but somehow found it difficult to do so. Her memories did little to abate the confused feelings she had. Part of her wanted to claw and tear at the old man for being the turning vote that had her removed from her position in the company. The other part was trying to reconcile the tired sad look the man had when he had made the fateful decision.

Before her thoughts could confound her any further she felt Korra groan and shift. Her eyes flickered open and Asami saw just how red they really were. She looked exhausted in more ways than one. Her eyes were bloodshot and carried heavy bags and dark circles. The moment they made eye contact Korra visibly relaxed and a huge sigh escaped her mouth. Before Asami could say anything Korra pulled her up out of the bed and hugged her so tightly Asami swore she felt several joints pop under the pressure.

"Don't EVER do that again," said Korra. Her voice sounded muffled but that might have been due to the fact that Asami was buried deep within her muscular arms and her ears were pressed up against Korra's chest. Asami could hear Korra's heart beating rapidly like a frightened rabbitsquirrel.

She tried to respond but found that her voice got caught in her throat. More than that she found she was far more content just absorbing the warmth around her letting the comfort try and wash away the pain she felt in her heart. Korra pulled back, her red eyes concerned and questioning. Her words only echoed what her eyes had already screamed.

"What happened?"

"I—" started Asami. It was hard to talk. Her throat was parched and talking felt like her vocal chords had been replaced with sandpaper. Wordlessly she gestured at a nearby pot of tea. Korra poured her a cup not noticing that it was cold. Asami didn't mind. She downed the transparent brown liquid and swallowed. It wasn't much liquid but the effect was immediate. Her throat sucked the liquid down as a desert drinks in the rain. She poured another cup and downed it just as quickly. It took her four cups of overly saturated, bitter tea before she was able to croak out an answer.

"I… lost the company." The realization hit her hard as her words confirmed to her heart that which she had already known in her mind. Her stomach lurched threatening to expel the recently acquired tea. She felt nauseous and wobbled. She was steadied as Korra caught her gently and reassuringly holding her up. Her eyes were as confused as her next word.

"What?"

"The directors of my company took it away." Asami sniffed as she fought back the tears that threatened to pour out of her already dry eyes. "They took away the thing that I had dedicated my life to. My father's dream… everything I'd been working towards is just… just… gone." At that point she couldn't hold the tears any longer and they came rushing out. She was thankful when Korra said nothing and simply held her tightly. Confirming the tragedy to herself threatened to break her into a thousand pieces that would never be reassembled. She cried softly as Korra simply held her. The silence was only broken by her muffled sobs.

Korra held Asami not knowing or even caring how much time passed. Seeing Asami as helpless as she looked ripped Korra's heart open and set it bleeding. She was never one for the wise or comforting words. But she knew that no words would fix this so she simply resolved to be there for Asami. So she held the sobbing woman in her arms and hoped that her presence was enough to soak up some of the grief and pain.

Eventually Asami stopped crying. Her eyes were dry again having cried out all of the water she had gotten from the tea. She pulled away from Korra, not because she didn't find the embrace comforting, but more so that she could begin to piece herself together. Her mind was in tatters and her heart was a pile of shattered glass each piece threatening to slice deeper if moved in any way.

"I need a bath," she croaked.

"I'll get it ready." Korra got up and moved towards the nearby door but stopped when Asami grabbed her wrist.

"Can you stay?" asked Asami, "I'm not sure… I'm not sure if I can be alone right now."

Korra saw the earnest pain in Asami's eyes and decided that preparing a bath could wait. Asami needed her now. So she nodded silently and sat down on the bed. Asami moved over and gave Korra a little more space to sit. She lay her head against Korra's chest listening to her heartbeat. It had slowed considerably and the strong consistent thumps calmed Asami. The gentle pulse of her breathing lulled her and eased the pain. Asami closed her tired eyes and was only vaguely aware that someone had come in and spoken with Korra. They had just as quickly as they had come but that was of no concern to Asami. She was simply glad that in all the pain and suffering she had Korra to rely on. In a way she felt a strength through Korra that she knew she could not have alone. Korra was her buffer, her shield against the storm, her lifeline and she was happy to stay in the safety of her shadow. She drifted off to sleep still feeling the sadness and pain but knowing that she would never be alone and that if she fell, Korra would help her up.

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><p>Asami's breathing became deep and relaxed. Her body slumped and Korra lay her back down on the bed taking care not to wake her. Just before she had fallen asleep again Pemma had slid the door open carrying a new batch of tea and wearing a worried face. They exchanged a few words and Pemma visibly relaxed as Korra reassured her that Asami had awoken. Pemma asked if there was anything she could do and Korra simply asked for a few towels and that one of the larger tubs be filled with hot water for a bath. Pemma hurried off to see to those things leaving Korra alone with nothing but her thoughts and the sleeping Asami.<p>

Korra felt the ache of exhaustion upon her eyes. She had been awake for what felt like days consuming nothing but tea and cyclically pacing worrying meditating worrying and pacing some more. Her every thought had been consumed by the mystery that had been the cause of Asami's collapse into her arms the previous night.

Korra felt a cacophony of emotions roiling within her body. She felt anger at the directors of Future Industries for having ousted their own leader in favor of another. She had felt fear in thinking Asami would not wake from her trauma. She had felt anxiety when she had not known the reason for her pain and overwhelming sadness.

She toyed with the idea of leveling the temporary headquarters of Future Industries and forcing them to take Asami back. It was an entertaining thought but not at all a practical one. Making any physically aggressive move towards the company would simply secure their assumption that Asami was not fit to lead the company. They would see Asami as a spoiled girl that would resort to violence in order to get her way and that would in no way help.

Korra tossed around several other ideas, many of which were simply fantasies involving skills that Korra had never learned of much less mastered. Before she could fully submerge into a brooding mood Pemma opened the door again and let her know that the bath had been drawn and that it was ready. Korra was pleased for the distraction and roused Asami who blinked tiredly but nodded when asked about the bath.

Korra helped Asami out of bed and walked her down the hall to the bathing room. The two of them stripped their clothes off and threw them into a basket which Pemma quickly confiscated and saying, with a smile, "the two of you should just relax. I'll get this taken care of." With that she disappeared with the wrinkled pile of clothes that had seen better days.

Korra and Asami wrapped themselves in the thick towels Pemma had given them and walked into the steaming bath. Korra felt her exhaustion slip away as the steam enveloped her. She looked over at Asami who looked a thousand times better as the humid air served to relax her as well. At Korra's insistence Asami sat on a stool near a large mirror. Korra waterbent some of the steaming water from the bath and gently let the water run over Asami warming her and wetting her skin. She found a flowery scented soap and began to gently scrub at Asami's back.

With each scub Asami felt her pain ease just a little. She knew it was a temporary solution but the relief was welcome none the less. She undid her towel and lay it across her lap letting Korra wash every inch of her back. Asami took care of the parts she could reach. She used a slightly abrasive block to scrape away some of the tougher skin that had decided to take residence on her elbows and knees. The faint smell of flowers reminded her of the vague memories of her mother and they relaxed her.

She flipped around and gently demanded that it was Korra's turn. Korra frowned but turned as she realized that Asami would not stand for being the only one to be taken care of. Asami filled a shallow bamboo bucket with water and grabbed the same bar of soak Korra had used earlier. She turned back to Korra and dropped the bucket in shock. Korra jumped slightly at the noise.

"What happened?"

"Your… Your back… why is it all bruised?"

"Oh… damn I thought those would have faded by now."

"What do you mean?"

"It's nothing really."

"No, tell me."

"You're not going to like it."

"Tell me anyways."

Korra sighed, she had really hoped to avoid this. She partially wanted to lie but knew that Asami, no matter what, would be able to see through it. She took a deep breath.

"You probably don't remember this… but you did this."

Asami drew back horrified. Korra sensed her departure and turned to face her eyes filling with concern.

"Asami, it wasn't your fault."

"Of course it was! How could you say otherwise?"

"Because you weren't in your right mind. You were crying and flailing and I had no idea what had happened or even what to do. So I… I held you."

"And I did this?"

"It's really not as bad as it looks."

"It looks pretty bad."

Korra turned back around showing the purple bruises again. "You're surprisingly strong Asami. But at the time I wasn't worried about that. I was just worried about you."

"But you could have stopped me!"

"And what good would that have done? I didn't know in the slightest what had happened. The best plan I could think of was simply being there for you. Sure you wailed on my back a little and, while it did hurt, I knew it was nothing compared to what you were feeling."

"But… I…"

"'Sami. If this happened again I would do the exact same thing. I wouldn't stop you from trying to hurt me, spirits know that I heal quickly. I would take every lash, every strike, and every punch you could throw at me if it would help you even in the slightest way."

"Korra… I'm sorry."

"Don't be, because I'm not." Korra faced Asami again and smiled warmly. "Now you were about to clean my back?"

Asami was speechless. She was so lucky to have Korra. She could think of no one else who could easily shrug off a dozen dark bruises and simultaneously set her heart at rest with one smile. Mutely Asami picked up the soak and lathered up a nearby sponge. She poured the hot water on Korra's back and started scrubbing.

To her credit Korra hardly flinched. Asami could tell that the bruises were deep but that Korra was doing her best not to worry Asami. Once or twice her face grimaced as Asami pressed against one of the deeper bruises, but the look quickly faded.

After had scrubbed one another they settled down into the bath together lounging and soaking in the heat. This was no hot spring but it was almost as good. The hot water and steam distracted Asami so much that she almost felt normal again. The pain was just an ache now. She knew that in the coming days the pain would come and go in waves. She knew that some days the pain might even overwhelm her. But she took solace that Korra was going to walk the path with her every step of the way and that, if and when she fell, that Korra would pull her to her feet, dust her off, and help her along.

They had stayed in the bath until the water had run cool. Asami and Korra vigorously toweled off wiping away the traces of water that still stuck to their bodies. A new set of clothes had been laid out for the two of them. Pemma had gone to lengths to provide the two of them with some comfortable sleeping clothes so she could wash their other garments.

They quickly dressed and returned to the room. Korra walked in but Asami stood outside the room.

"'Sami?"

"I just wanted to say something."

"What?"

"I just want to let you know that since I'm no longer head of the company… I'm broke."

"And?"

"Well I thought that would matter…"

"'Sami," Korra grabbed Asami around the waist and pulled her into the room and held her tight against her body, "You're an idiot for thinking that." Her eyes were deadly serious but her smile was sincere. "I never thought about your money when I fell in love with you. Never once."

"Yeah but now I'm completely broke. I mean, no airships, no Satomobiles, no fancy restaurants."

"'Sami, look at me. Do you think I want or need any of that? The only one I want and need is you. Everything else is extra. Sure things would be nice but they wouldn't make me happy. You Asami, you make me happy. And I will make you happy even if it is the last thing I do."

"And you say you don't have a way with words."

"I don't, I just say the things that seem like a good idea."

"Well don't change that about yourself ever." Asami gave Korra a quick kiss. The rush of emotion further dulled the pain. "C'mon, let's sleep. We've got a long day ahead of us."

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><p>Whoooo boy... I REALLY REALLY hope this chapter works out... honestly after last week's chapter I was certain I had dug myself a hole that I wouldn't be able to climb out of. If you readers can't tell I get self-conscious about my writing. Anyways I hope this chapter is a worthy follow up to the chaos and darkness that was last week's chapter.<p>

I initially had these grand plans of doing a 5 part stages of grief chapter. You guys have no idea just how many drafts I went through before finally settling down and simply letting my imagination do its work. After all the pain of last week I felt that you guys as the readers (as well as myself) needed something comforting. No the challenges aren't over yet and Asami will have to come to terms with no longer being the President and CEO of Future Industries. But she needed a hug and I wanted to give her just that. So yeah... I hope this chapter was a sufficiently satisfying "hug".

As always thanks for reading. I'm overjoyed by the amount of support I get from you readers, it keeps me going. I do read all of your reviews and, though I don't respond to all of them, I do take notes on your suggestions. I want to write something that you are all eager and happy to read but I will stay true to my own plans. I'm working on a stand alone story for Korrasami and will post it when I have decided it is worth reading, look forward to it. In a way the stand alone happens in line with the overall arc of this fanfiction, its just set in the future so I'm sort of playing catch up with my chapters. Thank you again for all your support, I will keep writing and working on my narrative skill.

NEXT TIME ON THE FUTURE IS WHATEVER WE WISH (that is a silly name... taking suggestions now) - Asami figures out how to live like Korra did upon arriving in Republic City four years ago... penniless. Also one hell of a satisfying punch. The triumphant return of Varrick (okay triumphant is just something he wanted put in). And slowly letting the cat out of the bag (several of the women already know, cause hey they're awesome like that).


	10. Chapter 9: What is Normal Anyways?

Hello readers, I do not own any of the characters in the following chapter apart from Zhan (can I kill him yet?) Please read (necessary), enjoy (subjective), and review (optional). My apologies for the wait.

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><p><span><strong>Chapter 9<strong>: What is Normal Anyways?

Over the last few days Asami had noticed the mornings growing brighter and the colors becoming more saturated. It was a curious side effect of coming to accept her new identity not as the leader of Future Industries but as Asami Sato, penniless genius with a penchant for tinkering. She dug out the few belongings that she had managed to retrieve from her father's mansion. Technically the mansion still belonged to her but the size and nearly empty state made it feel cold and impersonal, as though any fond memories of days of a distant past had been lost to its cold embrace.

She first pulled out the picture frame containing an old black and white photo of her father, mother, and a younger bright eyed version of herself. She smiled sadly at what felt to her like an ancient memory. As she reminisced she felt Korra's strong arms wrap around her in a warm hug. The sadness she felt melted away as she absorbed the feelings of comfort and safety she found in Korra, her new family.

She pulled out the battle-worn Equalist glove she had used during their various adventures together. The brass edges of some of the components had started turning green with oxidation. Asami made a mental note to replace them when she had the chance. Ironically her plans would involve money in some form or another so the thought of replacing the parts would probably have to wait until later.

Korra toyed with her hair as she continued to unpack her things. Asami laid out an ancient but still vibrantly ornate makeup box which had belonged to her mother. It was the last remaining testament to the woman she was, all other belongings having been destroyed by her father while he was consumed in rage and grief.

At the very bottom of her pack were a few neatly folded stacks of clothes. Asami examined the things she had laid out on the desk and realized just how little she needed to live. Technically she had never gone without makeup a mused how Korra would respond if she spent a day without adding the rich reds to her lips or the delicate lilac shade to her eyelids.

Asami had hardly noticed the disappearance of Korra's warm embrace when she turned to see Korra dragging in a rather large chest. Swinging the curved lid up Asami saw a curious multi-tiered interior not unlike her mother's makeup box just several times larger. She placed the Equalist glove at the bottom of the chest knowing that it may be some time before she would be able to tinker with it. Her clothes she stashed in a middle section laying the carefully folded fabrics where the joints would not crease them and the lubricants would not stain them. Her makeup box she placed in the top tier of the box where it fit snugly as though it had always meant to be there.

She closed the chest and found herself feeling more at home than ever. The room she shared with Korra was small but recently Korra had wrestled out the bedframe and mattress only to replace it with a larger and fluffier roll up mattress. Initially Pemma had raised a curious eyebrow as to why she needed such a large bedroll but the woman quickly realized the reason and with a sly knowing smile had retrieved the warm fluffy bedroll for them to use while simultaneously taking away the smaller travelling bedrolls.

At first Korra and Asami were somewhat apprehensive that Pemma would speak to Tenzin about her suspicions but as the days went by and Pemma gave her knowing smile to the two but Tenzin remained oblivious, it was clear that their love for one another would not be exposed until they were ready.

The harder task was making sure Jinora wouldn't say anything. Asami and Korra tried to keep their interactions to a minimum but regardless nothing to escape Jinora's sharp observative eyes. At first she was suspicious, but when she had caught them mid-kiss in a shadowed corner of the temple her smile cracked into one of excitement. Korra nearly had to beg Jinora not to go screaming the news to the world. The teenager reluctantly agreed but only just.

Sparring was always relaxing for Korra. The economy of movements, the rapid pulse, and the spike of adrenaline of mock combat all added to the addicting nature of one of her favorite activities. Her opponent was Asami who was as good if not better than Korra with hand to hand combat. The two of them moved in a blurring dance of strikes and parries. More than once Korra felt the brush of padded knuckles brush her cheek or a puff of wind as a strike just barely missed her.

Korra found it difficult not to be distracted. Asami's eyes were normally capitivating but, when it felt like she was trying to beat you into submission, her eyes became absolutely bewitching. Her normally vibrant green eyes appeared to take on a hard sheen similar to the look of jade. Spots of greys and yellows would appear as though rising to the surface of an emerald ocean. The change was even more evident when Asami was not wearing her usual makeup.

It wasn't just her eyes that Korra had a hard time looking away from. It was practically everything from the way that Asami's pale skin seemed to spark with energy as the sunlight caught tiny beads of sweat forming on her skin to the way her clothes hugged tightly to her already flawless body only further accentuating the curves that were normally hidden under a stiff jacket.

Korra was sent tumbling to the ground by a punch she swore came out of nowhere. Asami's gloved hand had caught her square in the face and, while the pads ensure that the strike was unlikely to leave a mark or even a bruise, it was surprising as a cold bucket of water on a hot day. Korra rolled across the flat stones that made up their impromptu sparring arena eventually slowing and stopping on her back.

"HA! Gotcha!" declared Asami as she grinned with satisfaction, "Jeez you make it hard to hit you."

Korra sat up from the ground, dusting herself off. "Well I'd hope so, I mean it would be pretty useless if I walked into a fight only to go down after the first punch."

"I guess… but you could at least go easy on me."

"And take a walloping from the girl who would unflinchingly face down a bender and come out on top? No thank you, I'd like to keep control of my facilities thanks."

"I'm not even using my gauntlet! The thing looks a bit worn down, probably needs fixing."

"Knowing you, the gauntlet is only going to get crazier."

"Not anytime soon, I don't have the resources I used to."

"And has that ever stopped you?"

Asami smiled, "No it hasn't."

"Exactly."

Asami walked up to Korra and extended her hand. With a stiff tug she pulled Korra up to her feet and for a moment they were very close, their bodies almost matching into one another. Suddenly Asami felt the tug of temptation as she found herself with a strong urge to taste her lips. She leaned in and felt the hot burst of Korra's breath tickle her own lips. Her vision seemed to brighten as a result. But before anything could happen a voice rang out across the arena.

"OOOOOOH AND AN UPSET VICTORY BY FORMER FUTURE INDUSTRIES PRESIDENT AND CEO ASAAAAAAAMIIIIIIII SAAAAAAAAAAAATOOOOOOOOO!"

Bolin had been watching on the sidelines unbeknownst to either Korra or Asami. They parted with a blush but quickly regained their composure before Bolin got close enough to notice.

"Man that was AWESOME. I mean have you guys ever seen yourselves fight? Wait scratch that, how could you? Oh wait I know… Mirrors. We gotta get some mirrors… or maybe a mover camera. Nah mirrors…"

"Bolin! What are you doing here?"

"Wha? Oh right. I came looking for Opal and got here a bit early. Finished the day's work and I was thinking 'why not gather up the old team and go out for food'? My treat."

"Bolin, I can't make you do that," protested Asami, "It's your hard earned money."

"Pshhh, What good is money if you don't spend it right? And besides, I think I'm technically still getting royalties from the ADVENTURES OF NUPTUCK movie."

Korra pulled Bolin and Asami into a tight hug drawing noticeably, though not to Bolin, closer to Asami. "We'd love to go. What time?"

"Well I was thinking soon as I find Opal." He looked around with a minor look of confusion on his face. "Where is she anyways?"

"I'll you find her," offered Korra, "I'll meet you at the baths Asami."

"Sure. Don't take too long."

They parted ways as Korra led Bolin on a trek around the grounds looking for Opal. The Beifong airbender was nowhere to be found. Eventually Bolin was distracted by the younger three quarters of the airbending children. Rohan especially took a liking to Pabu who, despite being a wonder around children, frantically tried to scramble away from Rohan. He only successfully escaped when Naga came to his rescue letting the fire ferret climb up onto the massive polarbear dog's head far from the reach of Rohan.

Korra bid Bolin an apologetic farewell, wished him luck in finding Opal, and headed towards the bath fully intent on washing the now dry sweat from her body. She slid the door to the bath atrium open and pulled off her sweaty clothes dropping them in a nearby basket and wrapping herself in a towel.

The bath was almost white with steam making it very difficult to see anything. The heat was comforting as always and as she descended into the heated water she caught sight of Asami and Opal staring at her. Opal looked as though she was expecting some sort of answer. Asami looked a bit abashed and looked to be asking for assistance.

"Um… what did I miss?"

"You're right… she does kind of just drop into her own world," said Opal with a wry smile. "I asked you, how long has it been since you two started dating?"

The water suddenly felt icy despite the steam actively rising off of it.

Thoughts raced through Korra's head. How did she find out? Were we that obvious? Did she spy on us? Has she told anyone? What about Bolin? Mako?

Asami kissed Korra on the cheek snapping her out of her trance. "The cat is out of the bag already, no avoiding it with Opal."

Korra felt the heat of the bath return and her racing heart calm down once again.

"So how long?"

"Depends on who you ask," replied Asami, saving Korra from having to say anything with her words still tangled in her throat. "But you already heard my part so let's give Korra a bit before you interrogate her alright?"

"Fine." Opal pouted, dissatisfied. As the three of them sat in silence in the pool of hot water Opal began to grow restless. First she fidgeted, then she started tugging at the edges of her towel, finally her foot started tapping underwater sending ripples across the steamy surface.

Korra took a deep breath steadying herself. "It all started after I was paralyzed by Zaheer's poison…"

"I was broken, in more ways than one. No connection to my past lives, pain everywhere in my body, I was exhausted both mentally and physically, I couldn't even access the Avatar state without crippling flashbacks, and to top it all off… I couldn't walk. I never felt so powerless in my life.

"And then there was Asami. While most people looked at me with pity she didn't. She just stood by me taking care of me even without ever being asked. Eventually when I left for healing down at the South Pole I knew I would have to leave her behind. It almost killed me.

"It was the letters, all of them. I must have read each letter a hundred times. I would sit up waiting for the next letter to arrive. I didn't know it at the time but I was already in love with Asami. The recovery was painful and I could barely keep my chin up much less walk. But each time I considered giving up, a letter would arrive as if Asami knew exactly when I would need it most.

"I would read the letter almost greedily drinking in every last word before sitting down and writing a response. And over the course of two and a half years those letters kept me going even when I couldn't find the strength in myself to do so.

"When I eventually left the South Pole I immediately knew it was going to be tough. I was cutting myself off from the one support line that really anchored me. As I wandered the world I grew more and more detached and well you should remember that I disappeared. For months I searched for a reason why I felt so helpless and fragile.

"My nights were haunted by the ghosts of the past, my days were hindered by my own failures. So whenever It felt like I couldn't go on much farther, I would pull out an old letter from my bag and read it. The words were familiar but it still brought me comfort.

"When I eventually returned to the city and saw Asami for the first time I almost lost it right there. She looked more beautiful than I had ever thought possible and it was only then that I realized just how much I missed her. I was still a little confused about my feelings but what I did know was that by then it didn't matter much of what my feelings were only that I was determined to make Asami happy one way or another."

Korra stopped, her heart now felt far lighter with everything out in the open, at least with Opal who wiped a tear from her smiling face.

"That was…," she sniffed, stalling her tears, "I knew something was going on. The signs were there. The secret glances. The way that you two turn towards each other. The way that you two are almost joined at the hip in everything you do and everywhere you go. Everything. It's good to finally know what I've suspected."

"You're not going to tell Bolin right?" asked Korra with a worried look. Asami's face held a matching concern.

Opal looked shocked, "Why not? It's wonderful news!"

"I don't know if he'll understand," added Asami, "I mean it's not exactly considered NORMAL for two women like us to be in love."

"Who cares? Normal is boring anyways. Love is love! Cut it a thousand ways and it is still love"

"Opal," Korra's eyes were serious, "I'm asking as a friend, please don't say anything. We'll tell everyone when we're ready."

Opal sensed the severity of Korra's voice and saw a hint of fear in her eyes. She sighed, "Okay fine, but don't keep it in for too long. It's going to be hard for you two to keep it a secret."

Opal got out of the bath and made her way towards the attached dressing room. The moment she slid the door open, Bolin crashed to the sodden wet floor at this girlfriend's feet. His face was wet with tears and now also with the water that had gathered on the floor.

"THAT WAS… *sniff* SO… *sniff* BEAUTIFUL!" He sobbed as he tried to scramble to his feet only to be pressed down by a furiously red Opal. The air around her seemed to whip into a miniature storm at her anger.

"WHAT ARE YOU DOING HERE!?" she screamed at him. Air blasted out of her mouth and ruffled the fabrics of both Bolin's earthen green shirt as well as her own towel which suddenly became embarrassingly revealing. In her rage she didn't notice it in the slightest.

"I was looking for you after I escaped the kids. I heard your voice coming out of the baths and I pressed my ear up against the door to hear what was being said. I SWEAR I wasn't trying to sneak a peek. You know me! It's not the thing I would EVER try to do." Bolin professed his sincerity into the stone floor with Opal still furious and standing over him.

Her rage settled from a firestorm to a seethe and she took her foot off the back of Bolin's head. She shot a look over to Korra who shivered reflexively.

"TOWEL!" demanded Opal, to which Korra rushed over and dropped a nearby towel into her hand.

Opal wrapped the towel around Bolin's eyes and tied it tight behind his head.

"Ow!" he complained as the towel tugged at his black hair.

"Shut it!" snapped Opal, "I'm making sure you don't see anything I don't want you to see."

When she was satisfied that Bolin was unable to see anything she stepped back. By this point Bolin looked like he had a severe headwound; so severe that his head was more towel than head. Only his mouth seemed to be free to do anything.

"So why were you looking for me?"

"I wanted to take us all out to dinner."

Opal sighed putting her hand to her face in exasperation, "And you couldn't just wait until I was done?" She sighed again looking at Korra and Asami apologetically. "Bolin, it was a private conversation. Korra and Asami didn't want you to know yet."

Bolin hung his heavily toweled head, "Sorry, I didn't know. I shouldn't have listened in."

Korra and Asami responded simultaneously, "It's okay Bolin, you would have found out eventually."

"I'm actually a little surprised that you're okay with our relationship," confessed Asami.

"Why wouldn't I be? I love both of you and want you to be happy." Bolin had turned towards the door as his toweled head made it difficult to locate the direction of sound. He gestured wildly at the door, "I'm overjoyed that you two are happy, Spirits know that you deserve it."

"Thanks Bolin," said Korra, "I'm glad you're so accepting. I just hope letting the rest of the people know will go as well as it did with you… though preferably without the eavesdropping."

"So are you going to tell my brother?" asked Bolin, now facing a decorative rock.

"We…," started Korra, she glanced at Asami who looked uncomfortable at the idea, "We're not sure… yet. We've been thinking of who to tell since we went on the vacation together. But we're still not sure how to tell Mako. He might still have feelings for one or both of us."

Bolin frowned turning now towards the towel basket. "I guess it does make sense. He hasn't told me much since he started guarding Prince Wu but I think you're right about the feelings. Maybe we should hold off on that for now. But it's not like I can un-invite him to dinner…" He paced around in a short back and forth pattern, once he almost fell into the bath but Opal managed to steer him away. He tried to rumple his hair in frustration which only succeeded in pushing the towel further down on his face. "Argh, this isn't working. I'll just invite him to dinner and we'll just roll with it!" He tried to walk out of the bath but ended up falling right into the bath before Opal, Korra, and Asami could stop him.

"Um… guys? Where is the door?" he asked after spitting out a stream of water. The heated water loosened the towel around his eyes and it slipped letting him see Opal. Bolin turned a brilliant shade of pink and quickly pushed the towel back over his eyes before he suffered her retribution. Thankfully Opal didn't seem to notice, or at least if she did she didn't particularly care at that point. Opal pulled Bolin out of the water and Korra bent all the water out of his clothes leaving them dry as they had been before the dip. They pushed Bolin out the doorway and out of the atrium before shutting the door with a click. The had unfortunately forgotten to take the towel off.

"BOLIN! WHAT WERE YOU DOING IN THERE!" roared Tenzin.

"Nothing. NOTHING I sweaaaaaaaaaaarrrrrrr…" Bolin's voice faded as the sliding door leading out of the bath rattled furiously as though a hurricane threatened to rip the door off its track.

* * *

><p>"When Bolin said dinner I was thinking Narook's seaweed Noodlery… not Kwong's Cuisine," said Korra as she picked at her clothes, "I feel horribly underdressed." She glanced at Asami who, despite being penniless, still managed to make even her day clothes look regal.<p>

"You look fine Korra," smiled Asami as she placed one hand on Korra's thigh. Korra blushed in response.

"Yeah, both of you look fantastic. Besides it's not like this place is currently super fancy or

anything."

Bolin was right. The restaurant, which had once been the premier dining place for the upper echelon of Republic City was anything but exclusive tonight. Nearly a third of the restaurant lay hidden behind large colorful tarps concealing the crumbled part of the restaurant that had suffered a stray footstep from Kuvira's mech. The patrons of the night were a better representation of those that still remained in Republic City than ever. Gone were the fancy clothes and expensive jewelry, replaced instead by simple yet elegant outfits that would have fit in a semi-formal gathering rather than a high-society dinner function.

Korra still felt rather unsettled being in the restaurant. A waiter with an impeccably clean and pressed uniform had pampered all four at the table. Asami and Opal had accepted the offerings of the waiter as though they belonged here. Bolin had gotten confused at the distribution of a steaming hot towel. Korra just kind of stared stunned at the opulence that the restaurant, despite being a third destroyed, still possessed.

They had all gotten settled around the silk covered table when Mako finally appeared. He wore his usual grey guardsman uniform but it was clear that he had either gotten a new one or had the old one laundered. His arm still hung in a sling wrapped tightly by the cast and bandages that tended to his broken bones and severe burns on his arm. Still he moved as though the arm hardly bothered him. His smile grew as he approached the table of his friends. He grabbed a seat next between Bolin and Korra.

The waiter reappeared bringing a final warmed towel for Mako and distributing a number of elaborate menus containing very few items and no prices. Korra shifted uneasily as she read the entries. Each item sounded incredibly expensive and she didn't want to burn all of Bolin's money in a single night of dinner. Asami noticed her discomfort and whispered a suggestion in her ear. Korra blushed at how close and warm her voice felt but quickly calmed down before Mako could notice.

The waiter appeared as though he had read the table's mind. The whipped out a small white notepad and began jotting down orders. He once again vanished like a shadow in bright sunlight.

The waiter returned with their dishes within minutes as though the dishes had already been ordered and prepared for their arrival. The nearly miraculous appearance of food made both Korra and Asami's stomachs growl in a rather unlady-like fashion. After days of eating nothing except vegetables on Air Temple Island, the two women had begun to crave the stronger flavors and textures of meat. Everyone began to dig in enthusiastically.

"You know," said Bolin through a mouthful of food, "I've always wanted to try this place."

"Don't speak with your mouth full," rebuked Opal with a light smack on his hand.

"Sorry." He swallowed the food in his mouth. "Anyways, this place always smelled so good, I hated walking by it every time I was out in the city proper."

"Now you can afford to eat here it seems," said Mako with a sly smile, "All hail Nuptuck eh?"

"It's all thanks to NUPTUCK HERO… OF THE SOUTH!" cried Bolin proudly pounding his own chest.

"You sure you can afford all this little bro? I can help out with the bill if you need it," offered Mako, "Prince Wu may be giving up rule of his kingdom but he's still paying me quite well."

"Nope, this is my treat to all of you. Besides, what's the point in worrying about the bill? Just enjoy the food and the company."

They continued to eat their wide variety of dishes and delicacies. When it was all finished the waiter appeared with his usual impeccable timing. It was as though he managed the flow of dishes for the entire restaurant and did it in such a way where no one table or group was waiting for longer than necessary. The waiter brought back a sweet red bean soup accented with citrus zest and sprinkled with powdered sugar in the pattern of the four bending elements but delicately detailed. He placed each bowl in front of his eager patrons and then left again.

Korra thoroughly enjoyed the simple dessert letting the hot contents of the bowl warm her body from the core outwards. The sweet flavors with the hints of citrus made for a delectable flavor that lingered on her tongue making the dessert seem to last much longer than it really did. Korra finished her dessert first, followed shortly by Asami. The two of them looked at each other exchanging silent words and coming to a wordless agreement.

"Mako, I have to tell you something."

Mako, Bolin, and Opal all raised their heads turning towards Korra. Bolin suddenly looked nervous. Opal stirred her dessert absentmindedly. Mako stopped eating all together.

"Mako, Asami and I…," Korra took a deep breath, "We're dating."

*clatter*

Mako's spoon fell into the bowl with a clatter that felt louder than it should have been. The dessert splashed slightly falling upon and staining the silk tablecloth below which no one noticed. Mako's face bleached white, then looked confused, then hurt, and finally settled for brooding.

"What do you mean?" he said, his voice even but barely in control.

"I mean…," Korra closed her eyes, this was not the reaction she had hoped for. She had expected some reaction and even prepared for Mako not to understand but his barely controlled voice, dark confused and hurt eyes, and his furrowed brow made it all the harder to say. "I…"

"It's okay Korra, I'll tell him," said Asami as she put a reassuring hand on Korra's hand and held it as though to comfort her. "Mako, Korra and I are in love. I don't know if you're going to understand it but we're asking that you find it in your heart to accept it."

"I… I…," Mako choked. Here he was at the end of a meal looking at the two women he had dated and feeling suddenly as though all doors to his life had been slammed shut in his face. He wasn't sure if he still had feelings for Asami but Korra was an entirely different story. He felt a sort of kinship with her that he just couldn't understand. When he had told her he would have her back no matter what at the wedding reception it was because he couldn't come out and say "I still love you" to her face. His mind raced as his carefully constructed world seemed to fall apart right around him.

"I… don't know if… I can…," he said shakily, "I… I need some time to breathe."

He stood up and slid away from the table walking as though someone had just taken a bat to his legs. He walked out the front door almost plowing right into it. After a moment Bolin stood up and gave Opal a quick kiss before saying, "I'll go see to him." Bolin dropped a thick stack of bills on the table making sure it would be enough for the dinner and tip before hurrying out after his brother.

Opal looked sad at the reaction. Asami stared almost unblinkingly at the door. Korra was shaking. She felt tears well up behind her eyes but refused to let them flow. _I'm strong_, she kept telling herself, _I'm strong, and I don't need his approval. I love Asami. This isn't just a fling or a phase, I really need Asami. I can't live without her._

Then her thoughts were polluted by a vein of red anger. _How could he be like that, why is he such a jerk? Can't he just be happy for us? How come Bolin was able to accept it and Mako couldn't._

Then the despair: _What am I going to do? I may not love Mako anymore but I still want to be friends. I still care about his feelings. What have I done? What if I lose a friend over this? Can I make it up to him? Do I even owe him that? Don't I owe myself happiness more than I owe an explanation to Mako?_

Bolin came in looking grim. His face was slightly red indicating he had been yelling. He sat down at the table with a resigned thud.

"He left."

"He what?"

"He's not coming back in. He said he needed time. But he looked mad. More angry than I have ever seen him." Bolin sighed, "I'm sorry Korra, sorry Asami. I really wish I could change things, make it work, but I don't know if Mako will come out of this. He was really mad. I don't think he understands even if he wanted to." Bolin rubbed his temple trying to alleviate his suddenly present headache. "We're just going to have to give him time."

Korra felt her world coming apart at the seams, not completely, but definitely weakening her foothold on reality. The room seemed to swirl and the colors seemed to flicker between bright and dull. Physically she was fine, rooted to her seat like a stone is to the earth. But her mind was in turmoil.

* * *

><p>Korra left the restaurant thoroughly shaken. Asami was at her side making sure she was walking properly despite being severely shaken herself. What had happened was just about the worst case scenario she could have hoped for. The only worse outcome would have been Mako flying into an irrational rage and leveling the entire restaurant. But he was too controlled for that so what had happened was effectively the worst thing possible.<p>

The bright colors of the night street seemed dull to her eyes. And the people that moved around her seemed grey and ghostlike their dull images seemed to smear and flow into the rest of the dark sullen evening. Suddenly a condescending voice rang out in the night.

"Watch where you're going Avatar," the voice spat.

"Oh no, not you," mumbled Asami.

"Why not me Miss Sato, just because you don't like me doesn't mean you should be rude?"

"I don't have time for this Zhan. I'm in no mood."

Korra's ears perked up upon hearing the name Zhan. _Where have I heard that name before?_ she thought as her mind dragged itself from the mire of despair. _Oh, Zhan, the bastard that hurt Asami._ Her addled mind soon started growing clearer her despair being replaced by the rage she had felt at Asami's pain.

Korra shook her head clear leaving only the rage buzzing in the back of her mind. She interrupted Zhan's hypocritical diatribe about respect before he could rail even more into Asami who had gone from exasperated to completely annoyed at the arrogant man before her and Korra.

"Hey! You! Shut it for a second!" She stepped up to Zhan who, despite being a few inches taller than Korra, seemed to shrink away upon encountering resistance. "You're Zhan right?" Her eyes seemed to spark with the flames she wanted to use to scorch Zhan.

"Yeah and what's it to you Avatar?" The way Zhan used her title made her cringe. It wasn't said in fear or respect, it was said in contempt as if he was actually saying, "it doesn't matter if you have power I'm still better and you're lower than the trash below my feet."

"This." Korra shot a straight fist at Zhan's nose. The impact sounded a sickening crack as the contemptuous villain's nose broke. "Don't EVER talk to Asami, I don't want to see your dirty face or hear your irritating voice again. If I see you again a broken nose will be the least of your concerns." spat Korra venomously her eyes ablaze with the anger she had been holding back for Asami's sake.

Zhan howled as he tumbled back dust dirtying his disgustingly white outfit. His hands were on his bloodied face holding his nose as though Korra's punch had almost ripped it off. His eyes spat hatred at every angle. And his brow glistened with sweat brought on by pain.

"You'll pay for this Avatar," he snarled, "you and all your friends and family. I will have you strung up by your thumbs and whipped until you are bloody. You will learn what it means to cross Zhan Fang!" He scurried away like a wounded animal not looking back. If anyone had seen his eyes they would have seen terror and hatred rather than his usual confidence.

"You shouldn't have done that," said Asami quietly, "You don't know what he is capable of."

Korra smiled wryly, "Sure he could probably sue the pants off my legs but to be honest, I've never had much to begin with. My family lives comfortably and they'd probably have done the same… well at least my dad would have. He hates this kind of behavior." She paused and looked at Asami, smiling even wider. "And besides, it's not like you didn't enjoy him wailing like a child and scampering away like a scared rat."

"No… I guess I can't say that." Asami smiled and glanced around momentarily. Upon seeing no one in the immediate vicinity she gave Korra a kiss that made all of the terrible things that had happened that night seem almost meaningless. "Let's go home."

* * *

><p>Hey readers, I hope the chapter was well worth the wait. I decided to pull the chapter out a little longer than usual. Slam packed with action and all sorts of good stuff. Sadly for how noble Mako is in the show I wanted to take my own spin on his acceptance (or in this case, rejection) of the Korrasami relationship. I do draw a lot of what I write from my own life experiences. One of the reasons the chapter took so long was because in writing this chapter I had to face some of the inequality of beliefs in my own mind (not easy btw).<p>

Anyways I hope you enjoyed the chapter (as always) and I hope you all come back for more. I took out the Varrick portion because he really didn't fit with the overall serious tone of this chapter. I had a little offshoot portion after the ending scene where I was trying to replicate the Jack Sparrow/Pirates 1 scene where he sails in on a sinking ship, but it just didn't fit. The story is about Korrasami and their trials, tribulations, and most of all their triumphs. I may consider writing an offshoot comedy story involving The Zhurrick and Bopal pairings sometime later. Let me know what you think about that.

As for future plans I'm considering on releasing a new chapter every two weeks. Work has picked up quite a bit and it makes it somewhat difficult to write a good story when I spend most of my days working (sorry about that but man's gotta eat). I think I'm going to stick with slightly longer chapters to make up for the wait time but we'll have to see. I have plenty of books to read and life experiences to draw from in the meantime so I think my content should be consistently pleasing.

Oh current offshoot projects include the Korrasami Proposal and Korrasami Wedding (I know exciting right? vows are going to be interesting). I'm toying with the idea of a miniseries called Nuptuck and the Blackthorne: Tales of Madness.

As always please review if you have something to say. I appreciate every word. If you review as a guest I wont be able to respond to you. Also send me PMs if you wish to chat I'm always happy to flesh out stuff that may not have been properly addressed in the writing. Peace.


	11. Chapter 10: The Truth of the Matter

I don't own any of the characters in the following chapter. I only own my words and interpretations. I hope you enjoy this chapter (admittedly its a short one but a necessary one).

* * *

><p><span><strong>Chapter 10<strong>: Accepting the Hard Truth

_What have I done…_ thought Mako as he stared into the mirror. His haunted face reflected back at him showing bloodshot eyes and a pale and gaunt face he hardly recognized. His hair was a matted mess and his face bore the slight shadow of stubble. His thoughts flashed back to just a few hours ago: Korra's confession, Asami's confirmation, his reaction.

His reaction disgusted him. He had sworn, both to himself and to Korra at the wedding reception, that he would always have her back. The fact that it had only taken two months and two sentences for him to break his vow disgusted him. Mako felt a painful wave of nausea return. He forced down the burning sensation of acid in his throat with all the willpower he could muster. His knuckles turned white to match his effort. When the acid receded he relaxed but only enough to let the blood rush back to his hands.

He stumbled over to the door of the bathroom and opened it. Korra stood right outside, her hand raised as if she was about to knock on the door that now stood wide open. Mako bleached white and slammed the door shut. He couldn't face her, not now, he didn't know if he ever could.

"MAKO!"

He slumped to the floor, the wave of nausea returning in full force. Through the acid he croaked, "How did you get in?"

"Bolin let me in, he has a key."

Mako thumped his head on the door. The sound was muffled to him but the ache on his head told him he had hit it much harder than the sound would have indicated.

"What do you want Korra?" A bitter flavor now pervaded his entire mouth. His tongue felt as though it was on fire and each word that came from it was just one more nail in his proverbial coffin.

"I want to talk."

"Does Asami know about this?" It had only been a few hours since they had part ways… rather since he had stormed off in cloud of unresolved feelings and emotions.

"Does that matter? And no she doesn't. I snuck out after she had fallen asleep."

Mako felt a light thump and heard a soft hiss come through the door as Korra leaned against and slid down the door. The thin barrier of wood was all that separated them and yet it felt like it was a thousand miles thick.

"Fine. Talk."

"Are you okay?"

"What kind of question is that?" spat Mako, the words coming out harsher than he intended.

"The only kind worth asking at this point." Korra's words were soft and even, there wasn't a hint of anger at all, only a slight tinge of sadness."

"Sorry."

"Don't be. I shouldn't have sprung this on you. I thought that maybe being in the company of friends would help." Mako heard a sigh through the door. "I was wrong. I'm sorry."

_Why was she apologizing? She had done nothing wrong. Sure she broke my heart but that was seriously one sided, she couldn't possibly have known._

Mako tapped the back of his head against the door a few times.

_Part of me wants to be glad she's happy but part of me wants her back. Her heart belongs to another now. Would it be right for me to take that away? Would it be right for me to interfere with her happiness for the sake of my own?_

"You have nothing to be sorry for." The words drifted out of Mako's mouth before he could think. Clearly his unconscious thoughts were better attuned for these things than the mess that was his conscious thoughts.

"Can I ask why you stormed out like that?"

"It's… It's probably because I'm still in love with you," admitted Mako. Suddenly the suffocating weight on his chest lifted slightly as though someone had removed a heavy stone from above his lungs letting him breathe just a little.

"Mako… I… I didn't know."

"You couldn't have. I wasn't sure of my feelings either. I had no idea that you and Asami had gotten so close. The two of you hated each other when you first met."

"We became friends."

"I saw that. And I thought that was wonderful. I thought you were finally branching out and becoming friends with more than just Bolin and me. I just never thought…"

"I would pick her over you?"

"Yeah…" The word stuck to his mouth like a sticky poisonous tar.

A silence enveloped the two of them as they both struggled to find the proper words.

"So what now?" said Korra, breaking the silence.

"I don't know…," admitted Mako, "None of this is making any sense in my head. At first I thought it was because you were both women that I was so hurt and angry. But when I look back on it now, it's clear that that wasn't the case at all. It was just me being an idiot—,"

"Don't say that!" snapped Korra.

"Say what?"

"Say that you're an idiot." Her voice shook with a genuine anger that Mako could not recall having heard in his life.

"But it's—,"

"I'm warning you Mako, say it again and I will break down this door and beat you senseless with the splinters." Mako suddenly became aware just how terrifying Korra could be at a moment's notice.

"Why do you care what I have to say about myself?" he retorted.

"Because I still care about you! I may not love you like I did when we were dating, but I still do love you. You're still my best friend regardless of what you may want to believe. I can't simply stand by and watch as you spiral into a pit of despair."

"But that is exactly what I did to you when you were hurt! At the time I thought you just needed time to figure things out for yourself. I was wrong, I abandoned you. So tell me, how can I let you be there for me when I wasn't willing to be there for you? You of all people know what I'm like. I'm brash, abrasive, distant, uncaring, and I don't change easily."

"You're also kind, impossibly caring, honorable, courageous, and strong enough to pull yourself out of any hole you may find yourself in."

"So let me get myself out of this one!"

"No."

"Why?"

"Because I learned something when I was recovering in the South Pole, I learned that it takes great strength and will to pull yourself out of the hole you're in but it takes more strength to let those around you take some of the weight and help you out."

The wisdom in her words struck true. Mako was floored. How was it possible that Korra had grown so much in the last three years and he was still stuck in his old ways? It seemed as though everyone had moved on leaving him in the dust. So what did he do when he was faced with change? He retreated, he turned away, and he refused.

The realization that he had not changed ripped at his soul. Mako had found a sort of complacency in his life and whenever something challenged his hard established prejudices and beliefs he turned away choosing to ignore the problems rather than face them head on.

Bolin, who had once depended on him entirely, was no longer in need of his guidance. He had staked a claim on life that he was happy with. Mako realized that he may have accepted his on the surface he was anything but accepting in reality. When Bolin had left to help the world, Mako had picked up a surrogate little brother that needed guidance, Prince Wu. And now even Prince Wu was beginning to take control of his own life.

His shock and anger that Korra was dating Asami was, when taken in this new light, nothing new. He had not accepted the changes that had taken place in Korra. Instead he had chosen to ignore them and to believe they were temporary. He fixed an image of her in his mind that was unchanging as a statue. In doing so he had only set himself up to be hurt worse and to hurt those around him.

He was exhausted and worn out. His fight with change was anything but useful. It had only served to make him hurt the ones that he cared about. He knew now that he loved Korra, but not in the way that Korra loved Asami or Bolin loved Opal. His love was not one that was shared between couples but one that was shared between friends and family. His reluctance to accept the changes in those around him had only led to suffering on both ends. It had to stop. If he couldn't accept the changes around him he might as well find a museum and lock himself in with the rest of the creatures that went extinct.

Mako pushed himself to his feet. His legs felt weak and his head felt heavy on his neck. His arms were sore and his chest ached as though someone had cut into him and had ripped something out. And yet through all the discomfort he felt that he could breathe. Each breath nourished him like the ones taken by a drowning man upon reaching the surface. He felt the psychological chains he had established loosen. Some of them slid off but many would remain for his entire life. He would just have to not trip.

He faced the door leading out of the bathroom and grabbed the handle half expecting it to burn him. When it didn't he pulled open the door. He saw that it was not just Korra on the other side but also Asami, Bolin, and even Opal. All of them smiled warmly as they surrounded him in a tight embrace. He felt the warmth and care of their embrace and felt disgustingly dirty and guilty. How had he been so fortunate as to come across friends who he considered family so accepting that they could even accept him in all of his faults and unwillingness to change?

He felt his throat unstick as he croaked, "Will you forgive me?" It wasn't directed any anyone but his eyes met with Korra's and Asami's. The two women smiled wider than ever.

"Always," Korra and Asami replied.

* * *

><p>"You lied to me," groused Mako indignantly as he nursed the drink in his hand. The small porcelain cup was filled with a faintly green and cloudy liquid. A larger jug matching the cup stood on the table glistening with condensation.<p>

"Well yeah, how else was I supposed to get you to talk?" admitted Korra with a sip of steaming tea from her cup. "It's hard enough to get you to say anything much less spill your soul. Besides, if you had KNOWN Asami and the rest were there you'd probably have clammed up and we would never have gotten anywhere."

Mako frowned because he knew it was true.

The five of them sat in a dimly lit bar that was on the verge of closing. The establishment was mostly empty by this point but several patrons were happily, or in some cases sadly, drunk and they wobbled uncertainly with each step they took. The barkeep eyed each individual warily as they exited his little slice of heaven. With a few quick gestures a number of grim looking individuals got up and left supposedly tailing the drunken individuals to make sure they got home safely.

Bolin and Opal were both nodding slightly in their little corner of the booth. Opal was flushed rather red but happily nestled up against Bolin who was doing his best not to topple over. Mako was just the slightest bit red from the chilled cactus juice in front of him. Asami was a bit redder than usual flushing through her usual blush and making her features stand out just that much more. A thinly fluted glass stood before her filled with a variety of fruits soaking in clear liquor. Korra was the only one who decided that tea would be better than a stiff drink.

"So what are you going to do now?" asked Korra.

"To be honest I have no idea," said Mako the feigned indignant tone giving way to a musing tone, "Wu

still needs a bit of guidance but I think he's about ready to strike out on his own. As for me…," he looked up at the dark ceiling, "I think it's time to move on. Maybe go back to the force. You think Lin will let me back in?"

"You were good before. No reason in thinking that you aren't still good. I think she'll welcome you back with open arms… gauntlets… err… cables?"

Mako chuckled. Despite everything that had happened he found that he was happier than he had ever been. He was unrestrained by the chains that had once tethered him to a fantasy that would never come true. He still felt a little raw around the edges but mostly he was just glad to be on good terms with Korra and Asami. He found that he was happy for them, a thought that a few hours ago would have seemed entirely impossible and unreasonable but now made sense in the grand scheme of things. For the first time in a long time, he was able to look to the future, and he was able to do so without flinching. The future no longer seemed a terrifying thing of uncertainty. Now the blank canvas tempted him with its limitless possibilities, and he intended to paint upon the mural of the future a landscape unlike any other.

* * *

><p>Hey readers, so apparently my last chapter generated something of a mixed response from you guys. Some of you claimed it was out of character for Mako to behave the way he did, perhaps that is true. I was aiming for more character development. Mako is the hero type but he also happens to be a bit more like Batman in that he never really lets people in, so this chapter was to allow his character to open up a little. Look more to the future and all that. Hopefully you enjoyed it.<p>

As of right now I'm thinking of ending this project sometime in the next few chapters. Everything that I did will eventually be resolved (a return to the baseline if you will). Characters will ultimately have their changes stick and that may reflect in my future works. I found that while this fic has been interesting, fun, and at times heartbreaking to write, it has more or less served its purpose which was originally to expand on the vacation and now has moved into the time after the Vacation. The story is no longer just about Korra and Asami and I feel that it may be time to return to our heroines but really in terms of smaller more episodic type chapters rather than an overarching narrative. It seems to work better if written in that way.

Oh and interesting thing. Over the last few days, I got into a conversation with an interested reviewer. The reviewer made me realize that homophobia and any negative associations with the same-sex relationships may not exist in this world due to the absence of westernization and western religions (Christianity, Judaism, and Islam). As such the original intent was to use the Korrasami relationship and the story I wrote surrounding it a commentary on the injustices and impracticality of the negative perception of same sex or even multi-sex relationships. The reviewer made me realize that having characters that react like people in the actual world we live in might not be an accurate representation of the world that the characters live in. While there are many parallels between our world and the Avatar universe there are also drastic differences that I think would have affected the perception of relationships as a whole. Based on this conclusion I decided to write Mako's reaction as more of him wanting to hold onto the past rather than him being outright against Korra and Asami's relationship just because they were both women.

Anyways, you readers may not agree with my decision to do this but it's done. Review away. Remember that his behavior might be considered out of character but this is an interpretation in the end.

Oh hey, I do want to encourage you readers to leave your reviews with your accounts. This is not so that I can come chase you down and get mad at you for a review that I didn't like. This is more to get into a conversation with you to figure out what you would like to read instead of XYZ offending chapter. I may not agree with the reviews but wanting conversations and interactions because of said reviews is not necessarily a bad thing. I'm saying this because it frustrates me when a negative review is left and I can't ask the reason why apart from the reasons stated in the review.

Anyways. Rant over.


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